Hawaii’s religious, political and educational leaders mourned the compassion and humility of Pope Francis, who died of a stroke Monday morning in the Vatican guesthouse where he lived.
Francis’ death at age 88 came as a surprise to Catholics everywhere, including Honolulu’s Vicar General Monsignor Gary Secor, who noted in a statement that the pope had just greeted and blessed a large crowd at St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday, against his doctors’ advice.
“It seems that he really desired until the end of his life to fulfill his important duty as the Holy Father and did that with much courage and determination,” Secor said. “I know that an essential part of his pontificate was a desire to reach out to people, as he said, ‘on the peripheries of the world,’ and that was certainly something that he did and something that he challenged us to do as a church, and for that I am very grateful.”
The timing is notable to the Hawaii’s Catholic community, as Easter Sunday marks a day of resurrection and Easter Monday as one of celebration, according to Bishop Larry Silva’s 2025 Easter messages.
“How blessed is Pope Francis to have died on this Easter week, after dedicating his life and his papacy to proclaiming the Lord Jesus as alive and active in our world,” Silva said in a statement.
According to the Diocese of Honolulu’s Office for Social Ministry, Francis’ Easter message on the Vatican 2025 Easter card read, “Let the Church and the world rejoice, for today our hopes no longer come up against a wall of death, for the Lord has built us a bridge to life.”
Malcolm Zara, an executive director of the young-adult-centered EPIC Ministry, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that as a more progressive pope who encouraged parishioners to start “a ruckus in the world,” Francis will be remembered for “causing us to get uncomfortable.”
Francis often shook up the interpretation of Catholic teachings, extending blessings to same-sex couples and hiring women in leadership roles at the Vatican. Zara said that while the young-adult ministry has always been focused on establishing communion and community, the pope’s emphasis on bringing people together affected their outreach.
“What it caused us to do, especially as a young-adult ministry, is it forced us to be more relevant,” Zara said. “We can’t just stand by and let people figure it out for themselves; we actually have to be more active in our ministries. With our programming, Pope Francis had an influence in the sense that we have to go out and figure out what people are thinking about, how people need to be served.”
Personally, Zara said that as a Catholic, Francis challenged him to “do more, to realize that the mission is bigger than what we think it is.”
“Even though (Francis) was literally halfway around the world, he is our spiritual father, too,” Zara said. “As a Christian, especially as a Catholic, you can’t help but be affected by it. You can’t help but feel like you lost someone who was close to you.”
Lisa Gomes, the Honolulu Diocese’s director of evangelization and catechesis, said she was surprised and saddened by Francis’ death, having seen him personally twice abroad. But locally, she said that there was a shift in the Honolulu diocese when Francis became pope and throughout his tenure.
“He was definitely way more open,” Gomes said. “He loved all people, especially with the poor, especially those on the margins. Even though he’s in Rome, I think that’s something that resonates in Hawaii as well.”
Catholic Charities Hawaii President and Chief Executive Officer Tina Andrade said Francis’ messaging influences her professional work and her personal faith as well. She lives by Francis’ famous saying, “Who am I to judge?”
“He is the pope for this time, when we need compassion,” Andrade said. “Every pope has their time, they have a job to do. Pope Benedict helped to solidify some of the teachings of the church, and Pope Francis just called us to be a loving community, to reach out to each other, to bring in the people who are on the margins. The gospel speaks to that in volumes, but that was definitely his focus.”
At the direction of President Donald Trump, Gov. Josh Green ordered the U.S. and the Hawaii state flag to be flown at half-staff at all state offices and agencies, including the Hawaii National Guard, until Francis’ date of interment, to “honor the life and legacy of His Holiness Pope Francis,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.
“Pope Francis was a beacon of compassion, humility, and service,” Green said in a statement. “His unwavering commitment to the marginalized and his call for global solidarity have left an indelible mark on the world. Hawaii joins the global community in mourning his passing and honoring his profound legacy.”
At Hawaii’s only Marianist university, Chaminade University President Lynn Babington said in a statement that Francis was “an inspirational advocate for our Earth” and “a beacon of hope to people from all walks of life.”
“Pope Francis challenged us to give of ourselves to ease the suffering of our neighbors and underscored the responsibility we all have to use our skills to make the world a better place for everyone,” Babington said. “Pope Francis also believed fiercely in the transformative power of education to lift communities. He leaves us with a legacy of service and selflessness.”
The Diocese of Honolulu said in a statement that a memorial Mass is being planned for Monday, with an exact time and location to still be determined.
Looking forward, Gomes said she hopes that the search for the next pope will “look at what the needs are in the church.”
Zara, 34, whose EPIC Ministry has planned a pilgrimage to Vatican City in November to mark the quarter-century Jubilee Year, said that whoever is chosen to be the next leader of the Catholic Church should be someone who follows in Francis’ footsteps.
“I think I speak for a lot of young adults when I say that we’re hopeful and anxious at the same time about where the church moves next,” Zara said. “We’re in a weird time where there is divisions that exist even within the church, similar to what’s going on in our country. The next leader of the church has to be the one who can unite us.”
