Philadelphia priest at Saint Joseph's remembers Pope Francis' visit in 2015: "He was such an inspiration"
Nearly 10 years ago, during his visit to Philadelphia, Pope Francis made a surprise stop at Saint Joseph's University.
"I feel sad, and there's a little bit of OK, what are we going to do without him? It's like losing a family member," Father Dan Joyce said.
Joyce, the vice president for mission and ministry at St. Joe's, is one of many on campus mourning the sudden loss of the 88-year-old pontiff.
"One of our faculty members just told me we lost one of the great moral compasses of our time. He's not Catholic, and he's sharing that with me this morning," Joyce said.
As students start to return from break, he says the chapel will remain open to anyone who wishes to pay their respects.
"He was such an inspiration to us here at St. Joseph's University; he visited our campus, of course, in his U.S. visit in 2015, 10 years ago," Father Joyce said.
It was towards the end of the Philadelphia part of that trip, the pontiff made a surprise visit to the St. Joe's campus and blessed the sculpture "Synagoga and Ecclesia in Our Time."
Nearly a decade later, current students still fondly remember that visit.
"It was a big deal. I remember lots of people gathered about to see him," freshman Max Riley said.
The Jesuit Catholic university was the only campus — Joyce points out — that Francis visited during his trip to the United States. Francis was also the first Jesuit Pope.
Why was visiting a Jesuit Catholic university so important to Francis?
"I think because to acknowledge the world of interfaith cooperation for religions to work together to change the world, he wanted to celebrate that," Joyce said.
On Easter Monday, a single bouquet of flowers sits at the base of that sculpture.
"Even though he's not here any longer, unfortunately, it's just a reminder of his impact on the world and the Catholic church," Riley said.
A piece of Francis' legacy will continue at the sculpture, Joyce pledged.
"We can live his inspiration and live out the mission of the church, the mission of Christ, maybe even better because now he can do maybe more from his place in heaven than he ever did while he was here," Joyce said.
