By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES — Deacon Hunter LaRocca still remembers when Pope Francis was elected to the papacy on March 13, 2013.

“I was a junior in high school, and I was getting confirmed that year,” he recalled, pointing out that later this year he will be ordained to the priesthood under a new pontiff because of the death of the Holy Father on April 21, 2025.

“In the first instance, I received a new sacrament, and now I will receive another one under a new pope,” LaRocca said. “I find this interesting and somewhat providential in that we are always entering into new seasons and phases in the life of the Church, whether it be when some receives a new sacrament for the first time, or the end of a papacy and the beginning of a new one.”

Deacon LaRocca assisted the Very Rev. Ruben J. Buller, V.G., Pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, at the 12:05 p.m. Mass on Monday in the Octave of Easter, the same day that Pope Francis died of a stroke followed by heart failure at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta.

Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope, made it clear from the beginning of his papal reign that he was especially concerned for the well-being of the poor. This was not lost on Deacon LaRocca.

“The thing that inspires me about Pope Francis in regard to my own journey towards the priesthood is the humility and generosity that he had when it came to his ministry,” he remarked. “I think that is the biggest lesson we can take away from him, especially those of us who are in Holy Orders doing the best we can to carry out our ministry in the same way.”

In hearing the news about the passing of the Argentina-born pontiff at the start of the Easter Season, Father Buller said it was a “blessed time to die!”

“I was reminded that the original task of the Apostles was to testify to the Resurrection of Christ. That task was given then to Successors of the Apostles, the bishops, and especially to the Pope of Rome as the Successor of Saint Peter, the Prince of the Apostles,” said Father Buller. “I find it a comfort as a Catholic that Pope Francis gave the blessing of Easter known as the Urbi et Orbi (For the City [of Rome] and the World) and then slip into the next life.  We are grateful for his service to the Church and see how in his death he testified to the hope of the Resurrection.”

As faithful children of the Holy Mother Church, we are all called to pray for Pope Francis that he will have eternal rest in the Lord. During this time, the Church enters nine days of official mourning — a period called the novendiales (Latin for “nine days”) — to pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis. The official mourning ends on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

At the end of each Mass through the final day of mourning, an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be will be prayed before the St. Michael the Archangel Prayer.

His Excellency Bishop Glen John Provost will celebrate a Diocesan Mass on the Occasion of the Death of Pope Francis at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 28, 2025, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 935 Bilbo Street. Priests of the Diocese of Lake Charles will concelebrate with the bishop.

Among those planning to attend is Mable “Doodle” East, a longtime parishioner of St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church in Lake Charles and a regular in attendance at the noon-time Cathedral Mass during the week.

“I was saying my morning prayers when my daughter Jean Ann told me that Pope Francis had died. I watched a little bit on TV, then I tuned into to EWTN while they were praying a rosary for the pope,” East said.

“It was an honor to hear the bells toll at the Cathedral when I arrived for Mass today. I knew I had to come and pray a rosary for Pope Francis,” East continued. “Father Buller did a beautiful job in his homily when he said that in Pope Francis’ death, he testified to the hope of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, and we were able to see him on Sunday for the last time.”

One of 11 seminarians for the Diocese of Lake Charles, Nicholas Poncho was home for the Easter break when he learned the news of Pope Francis’ death — something that will forever be etched in his memory.

“I will always remember when Pope Francis died since it happened on my birthday,” said Poncho who turned 22 years old on April 21. “I was only two years old when Pope St. John Paul II died in 2005 (April 2), so I don’t remember much about what I was doing then.”

Now a student at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Poncho said that he was “quite shocked” to learn of the news.

“After I woke up and prayed the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer, I went over to my computer to work on some things. I saw all the news about the passing of Pope Francis,” he said. “It was very somber but very special as well. It is a good time for us to pray for him during this time of Easter.”

Poncho said that he has come to learn the importance of praying for the poor through reading many letters written by Pope Francis.

“He had a very closeness of heart for the poor. My pastoral seminary assignment was visiting the homeless and talking to them. While I was doing that, I was thinking about Pope Francis from time to time,” he noted. “As I am discerning priesthood, giving my heart to the poor, praying for them constantly, that is something Pope Francis kept reminding us as the Church — to pray for the poor and take care of the most vulnerable.”

To read a statement from Bishop Glen John Provost upon the passing of Pope Francis, CLICK HERE.

To view photos on Facebook, CLICK HERE.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.  May he rest in peace!