“He has been able to name many of the realities, concerns and hopes of Hispanic Catholics in the United States,” said Ospino, originally from Colombia. “He addressed issues related to immigration, social justice, assimilation and evangelization: he was very attentively attentive to how Hispanics are integrated into the life of the Church.”
Olga Sarabia, a clinical social worker retired in Pasadena, California, said her parish had joined others around the world since the end of February in special sentences by Francis.
“We were all worried about our dad,” He said, using the Spanish word for Pope.
“He loved him because he showed an openness to all people … he raised women, as if he designated a nun at a high position in the Vatican, which is unheard of,” Sarabia said. “I remember that when he first entered, it was and washed the feet of the prisoners in jail. This showed his character. He was a Pope of the people.”
From his love for football, although he called himself a “kick” or a bad soccer player, to his native Spanish language, the Argentine Pope struggled to many who identified with his cultural heritage, warmth and compassion.
Recognizing the traditions of Latin Catholics; He urged Mexicans last year to continue their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Holy Catholic and icon that is a powerful symbol of Mexican identity.
In 2022, he celebrated a Mass in Spanish in the Vatican, where he said that Our Lady of Guadalupe “came to accompany the American people in this hard path of poverty, exploitation, socio -economic and cultural colonialism” and that “she is our mixed breed mother.”
Pope Francis had two consistent messages, which resonated with many of his Hispanic followers, Ospino said. “One was their concern for those who lived in poverty; the poor have been in the center of their pontificate. He invited Catholics to be part of a church that was at the service of the poor.”
“His second message, since day 1, was the difficult situation of immigrants,” Ospino continued. “Francis was interested in the realities and struggles of immigrants in Europe, the Caribbean, the United States and Latin America. He will be remembered as the Pope who brought and focused our attention on those who were poor and on the migrant populations of the world.”
In 2019, on a trip to Central America, Pope Francis suggested that the animosity towards migrants was driven by fear and “drives us crazy.” In 2022, he sympathized with migrant caravans walked to the southern border of the United States in search of what he called “freedom and well -being.” In January 2025, he appointed a vocal ally of migrants to direct the Archdiocese of Washington.
According to Pew Research Data, more than four out of four American Catholics are immigrants or children of immigrants.
In migration, Pope Francis did not avoid political controversies. He was a fierce critic of the immigration policies of President Donald Trump, saying that in a 2016 visit to Mexico that “a person who only thinks of building walls, wherever they are and not build bridges, is not a Christian. In January he called Trump’s plans for mass deportations” a misfortune. ”
In a February letter to US bishops, the Pope criticized the criminalization of migrants and deportations, warning: “What is built on the basis of force, and not about the truth about the same dignity of each human being, starts badly and will end badly.”
