Jakarta. The Jakarta Cathedral held a Requiem Mass for the late Pope Francis on Thursday evening as many faithful reminisced about his 12-year papacy, which put great emphasis on humility.

The 88-year-old pontiff passed away from a stroke and a subsequent heart failure in the Vatican earlier this week. A few days before his funeral, many Indonesian Catholics flocked to the Jakarta Cathedral, which the pope had visited himself during his papal visit to the Southeast Asian country last September. Indah, who came from the Aloysius Gonzaga Cijantung parish, was among the many Catholics wishing to mourn his death at the cathedral. She told the Jakarta Globe that the pope’s patience would be something that she would always remember.

“If I’m angry at someone, I would remind myself of his teachings on patience. The pope was a role model. … I saw him in person during the apostolic visit to Indonesia. Attending his mass showed me what it felt like to be a Catholic,” Indah said, shortly before the mass began. 

“He taught us how we should always be good, even if others are not,” Indah added.

Unlike Indah, Keluarga Kudus Rawamangun parishioner Sherly Maria admitted that she did not get to see Pope Francis in person when he made his historic Jakarta visit. Even so, Sherly said she looked up to the Catholic church leader, saying that Francis was a person “full of love and humility”. 

Pope Francis also left a huge impression on Muslims. Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar, who is also the grand imam of the adjacent Istiqlal Mosque, spoke highly of the Argentine-born pontiff. Nasaruddin even called on Muslims to also live by the pope’s words on the importance of upholding peaceful dialogue.

 “We were left behind by one of the best people in this world. Let us all take the valuable lessons from him. He might already be gone, but his messages shall live in our hearts. A wise man never dies, but he lives on, just like a candle burning in our hearts and minds. Wherever we go, there shall always be light,” Nasaruddin said.

Hopes for the New Pope
Cardinals will soon gather in the Vatican to elect the next pope in a process better known as the conclave. The highly secretive process will have the voting cardinals locked away from the world at the Sistine Chapel. 

Indah said she was hoping that Francis’ successor would be “a humanist” akin to the late Latin American pontiff. The same goes for Sherly, saying that the papacy should go to someone who “understands the current state of our world and can carry on Pope Francis’ mission”.

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