RICHMOND, Va. — Black cloth now hangs outside of Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, a sign of mourning following the death of Pope Francis.
Charles Coleman waited to attend Monday's mass there outside.
"I would've liked to have met him," Coleman said. "A man of faith, a man of conviction, a man who served the Lord."
Coleman was wearing all black with a silver cross necklace, an outfit he said he's been wearing all Holy Week.
"It'll just be a day of memory, of remembrance. Just to pay homage to this man," Coleman said.
Inside, Coleman and other visitors were greeted with a portrait of Pope Francis, also draped with black cloth.
During mass, Bishop Berry Knestout spoke about the Pope's legacy.
“I very much appreciate you being here joining in this prayer, very short notice, as we all heard this morning the news of our Holy Father," Knestout said. "Pope Francis, the mission of charity comes to mind. The mission of mercy. He had a simple conversational style about him, a pastoral style, it’s something you might find from a pastor in a typical parish somewhere, and was someone who was very practical in his approach toward piety and expression of faith, and life, and recognizing the messiness of life around us."
Knestout said Pope Francis appointed him as Bishop of the Diocese of Richmond back in 2017 and he was later installed in 2018.
He met with Pope Francis back in October and expressed gratitude for the Pope recognizing a church in Roanoke as a Basilica.
"His response was 'Just please pray for me,'" Knestout said.
Praying is what Nora Carlucci said she'll be doing while the Catholic Church waits to see who the next Pope will be.
"This is the Pope that I have known or recognized for the entirety of my life," Carlucci said. "It’s weird to think that we don’t have someone standing currently in the Catholic Church, someone to be our shepherd, but I am at peace that you know, during this Easter Season that he is with Our Lord now.”
Carlucci said she'll remember Pope Francis as being a "humble leader."
“I don’t have too much expectation or rigid hopes for anything in particular, because I trust that whoever it will be, they will lead our Church well," Carlucci said.
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