New York’s Timothy Cardinal Dolan had plenty to say about Pope Francis, who died Monday, but he kept his remarks brief.
“Believe me, I could preach longer,” Dolan said Tuesday during a Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “But Pope Francis always complained about priests preaching too long.”
Instead, Dolan used the 45-minute midday Mass to laud the late pontiff as “a gift to be long savored.”
“He was a troubadour of God’s mercy, constantly preaching God’s tender mercy for us and encouraging our tender mercy for one another,” Dolan said. “For us Catholics, this is a death in the family. We didn’t call him Holy Father for nothing.”
Dolan offered prayers for Francis at the venerable cathedral the archbishop dubbed “America’s parish church.”
Joining him were Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy as well as civic and elected leaders including Mayor Adams.
Dolan saluted the worldwide Catholic leader a day after the pontiff died after a stroke and heart failure at his Vatican apartment.
The frail Francis had celebrated Easter with public words to his faithful flock and a brief meeting with Vice President JD Vance.
Sad parishioners filled the sanctuary to share Dolan’s prayers and share their own respects.
Sally Nichols, 55. came from her home in Rye to honor Francis, whom she credits for guiding her back to the church with his inclusive policies.
“He meant the world to me,” Nichols said. “He’s inclusive. He’s compassionate. He owned the mistakes of the church. He also embraced all faiths and all people. That’s what we need more than anything right now. One of his first acts as pope was to wash the feet of Muslim prisoners and that just triggered something in me. Like, we’re in for change and that change is good.”
Her friend, Debra Caputo, 55, of the Upper East Side, saw Francis in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square in 2015.
“Just seeing him, seeing his presence and welcoming everyone,” she said. “You felt it right away. He was just incredible. He made people feel so welcome.”
Dolan is heading to Rome to join other cardinals who will select the next pope.
“His sacred responsibility is to preserve the integrity of the faith,” Dolan said after the mass of the next pope. “Francis did that well. The way, the style that he does it can differ, and we’ve just seen a pro in Pope Francis. He had a winsome style that moved the world. Whoever the new pope will be will have to make sure that he has that same winning style that Pope Francis did.”
Dolan, a longshot to follow in Francis’ footsteps, has his own winning style, observers have said.
Dolan even found time for a lighthearted moment when he asked Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, the Holy See’s representative to the United Nations, if he was out of a job now.
Caccia will deliver a Mass in Francis’ honor at St. Patrick’s on Saturday.
A picture of the pope sat on the cathedral’s altar, flanked by two lit white candles.
Dolan thanked God for allowing the world to see the pope’s highs and lows.
“We’re grateful for what God taught us about how he lived and about how he died,” Dolan said. “He was confident enough to let us see his struggle.”
Originally Published: April 22, 2025 at 2:04 PM EDT
