Triangle community remembers Pope Francis: 'A father figure'

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A few dozen people gathered in front of Mary's Grotto at Cardinal Gibbons High on Monday afternoon to pay their respects to Pope Francis.

"I just know that whenever I encountered in my own personal life, whether it was my mother or my grandmother, or when we sadly lost students, we turn to prayer. The rosary is a prayer that, sometimes, when you have no words, it brings a community together. And that's what we really needed to be is to be together, and to come together in prayer," said Kathleen Kozak, the school's Director of Campus Ministry.

Kozak saw the Pope in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia during his visit to the United States.

"He was a father figure. He was very kind. He was loving. I feel like he was an example to all of us of like the best of a human and how we can then bring that into our day-to-day lives," said Kozak.

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Kozak led Monday's prayer gathering alongside Father Joshua West, who serves at NC State.

"The opportunity just to come together to pray for him, to pray for his soul and that he is headed off to the House of the Father, as we like to say, in the Catholic Church, to be with God and to enjoy the reason for which he was actually made and created," said West.

About 80 Cardinal Gibbons High students attended the Easter Sunday service in St. Peter's Square, which would be Pope Francis' final public appearance. The school, founded in 1909, is the oldest Catholic high school in North Carolina.

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"It's kind of shocking. I was kind of surprised that we saw him yesterday in Rome and today, to wake up to that news was very surprising. But I think it's so special to be able to go to a school where we can all come together and kind of pray for him during a time like this where it's very uncertain," said junior Bailey Stump.

"I just think his commitment to our faith, what he's done for the entire world in general, how much he's put into this community of ours, and how much he's left behind that we can now cherish and keep growing from. And I think it's just really special," added senior Lexi Mullahy.

Both girls are on the lacrosse team, and said they had two teammates who were at Sunday's service.

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"It's so special for them to be able to see the Pope on Easter and kind of celebrate with other Cardinal (Gibbons) students. I think they were definitely surprised, but I think they had a special moment yesterday, and it was special to be able to see him," said Stump.

Christian Rios, a UNC Charlotte graduate, was at Sunday's Easter service.

"(Pope Francis) came out and he gave the blessing that only the Pope can do. And he said, "Buon Pasqua", which is Italian for Happy Easter. And the whole crowd just erupted. It was so euphoric. It was beautiful," said Rios.

Initially, he did not have a ticket to attend the service. However, while waiting in line, a woman traveling with a group offered him her spare ticket.

"I said, when I get back home and I'll go up and frame it because it was so important to me to go to get in and see that," Rios said.

He said that he grew up in a religious household and was grateful to attend the service.

"It was super emotional, spiritual. I didn't know this until today, but the Pope wasn't even guaranteed to be there. He had been in such poor health and not been able to talk and be out for long. A lot of times, he had put one of his archbishops in charge of the service. And so when he came out at (noon), it was a huge surprise," Rios said.

Rios was traveling with his friend Jordan Porter, who is from Morrisville.

"I definitely felt like this historical aspect of it," said Porter.

The pair praised the Pope's work on a broad variety of social issues, such as migrants' rights and outreach toward the LGBTQ community.

"His love for the poor, the weak, the migrants," said Rios.

"I thought it was important. I really admired that, especially since there are so many like religious people, not even just Catholics, where their own faith don't accept them," said Porter.

Both men shared the range of emotions as news broke of Pope Francis' passing.

"That was the only time I can really think of that, the whole trip, that it was unnaturally quiet," said Rios.

"We were in the Roma Termini, and people were just crying and weeping. They were so sad," Porter said.