The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, bishop of Scranton, will celebrate a special diocesan memorial Mass for Pope Francis on Tuesday at 12:10 p.m. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton.
The public is invited to attend the Mass for Pope Francis, the bishop announced.
Pope Francis, who died Monday at 88, was the first Latin American pontiff. His legacy includes concern for the poor and marginalized, as well as climate change.
“While we feel an overwhelming sense of loss, we are comforted by the incredible legacy of love, compassion and mercy that Pope Francis bestowed upon the Church — a legacy that will continue to inspire and guide us well into the future,” Bambera said in a statement.
Bishop Joseph Bambera leads Ash Wednesday service at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
During his 12 years as pope and more than 50 years as a priest, Pope Francis “made it his mission to share the endless compassion of God,” Bambera said. “His words, which I have often quoted in my homilies, always pointed us toward the essential truths of our faith — that God is love, that mercy is the cornerstone of our salvation, and that our mission is to reflect that divine mercy in our daily lives.”
One of the defining moments of Pope Francis’ papacy was his proclamation of the Year of Mercy in 2015-2016, “when he called the entire Church to reflect on the richness of God’s mercy, reminding us that we are all invited to experience and share this mercy with one another, especially those most in need. His focus on God’s mercy — and that no one can be excluded from it — was not just an abstract teaching. It permeated his words and actions, from his encounters with the poor and marginalized, to his tireless efforts to foster peace and reconciliation around the globe,” Bambera said.
The bishop also said: “Like so many people, I will never forget Pope Francis standing alone, delivering a blessing in an empty, rain-slicked Saint Peter’s Square in March 2020, during the height of the coronavirus, bringing hope to a desperate world. During those days, while so many were facing fear, isolation, and uncertainty, through his words and actions, Pope Francis reminded the world that Christ — and the Eucharist — are our true signs of hope.”
Feeling worthy
Lifelong devout Catholic Germaine Helcoski of Moosic and family members were among the crowd of about 1.5 million people who descended on Philadelphia in 2015 for a papal Mass celebrated by Pope Francis.
Helcoski went on a bus trip from her church, Divine Mercy in the Minooka section of Scranton, and — even if a mile away — was eager “just to be in the presence of the pope,” she said.
Through circumstance, she ended up relatively close — about two blocks away — from Pope Francis during the Mass and the experience was a deeply spiritual one for her.
“During Mass when it came to the sign of peace, here we were kneeling on Broad Street, it didn’t matter who you were, everyone hugged each other,” Helcoski said.
Pope Francis rides in the popemobile along Independence Mall before delivering a speech outside Independence Hall Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Pope Francis consecrated Communion delivered among the crowd by eucharistic ministers and Helcoski felt fortunate to be among those who received Communion.
“We never, ever expected that,” she said. “I don’t know how to describe it. It was like, ‘Wow!’ Something changed in me after that,” Helcoski said.
Before that experience, she had considered becoming a eucharistic minister but never did because, “I felt I was not worthy,” she said.
Later, in 2019, she did become a eucharistic minister and credits attending the papal Mass as a big reason for her thinking that “I could do this.”
Helcoski said Pope Francis “accepted everyone” and believes he has had a positive impact on the church.
“With so many people leaving the church, by him accepting everyone, maybe he brought some people back,” she said.
Feeling respected and heard
In 2021, Rabbi Daniel Swartz of Temple Hesed in Scranton was one of 40 faith leaders across the globe — and one of only two rabbis worldwide — invited by the Vatican to participate in “Faith and Science: Towards COP26,” to draft and sign a declaration for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
During the audience with the pope attended by Swartz and the others, organizers at some point were trying to wrap it up and move the pope along to another matter — but he had other ideas, Swartz recalled.
“Pope Francis just waved them off. He opened the meeting with how we all need to listen to each other and he really lived that,” Swartz said. “He was in the middle of a dialogue and he wanted to hear what everyone had to say and I really appreciated that.”
Those in attendance from the largest organizations also were seated closest to the pontiff and spoke first, “but the pope did not necessarily recognize that hierarchy and treated us all as equals,” Swartz said.
Swartz contributed to rewriting the declaration with a conclusion about the role of the faith community to help inspire hope — a strategy he noticed incorporated into subsequent documents.
Rabbi Daniel Swartz will present a free lecture about vocation Thursday at 3 p.m. in the McGowan Conference Room, Swartz Center for Spiritual Life, at Marywood University. (Courtesy of Marywood University)
Then, for a second time in three years, Swartz addressed climate change with the Vatican at a conference of faith groups from across the globe. From Oct. 21 through 24, Swartz was one of about 50 religious figures invited to attend the Vatican’s “Going Further, Faster Together: Towards a Global Multi-faith Women-led Climate Action Network.” This conference aimed to lay the groundwork for faith groups to work together to address climate change globally, with a focus on women-led groups.
“He appreciated hearing from people whether they shared his viewpoint or not, and you felt respected and listened to, regardless of your station. You just really got the sense he was listening,” Swartz said.
Swartz said Pope Francis’ assembling and listening to diverse groups “made a difference in so many lives, in recognizing the voices of the people, the youth, the poor, the marginalized, indigenous peoples and even the cries of the Earth, and that will be missed. He was a very special man.”