How Catholics in Charlotte will mourn Pope Francis
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Pope Francis greeting people on Palm Sunday 2025. Photo: Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images
Pope Francis died Monday at the age of 88, the Vatican announced this morning.
What to expect: All 93 churches across the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte will host an open prayer tonight from 7-8pm.
- There will be a larger mass at Saint Mark's in Huntersville Wednesday, April 23, at 7pm to celebrate Pope Francis' life, Bishop Michael Martin told reporters. Saint Mark's is at 14740 Stumptown Road.
- The universal Catholic Church is beginning a period of nine days of official mourning. This will look different across the world, Bishop Michael Martin says.
By the numbers: The Diocese of Charlotte includes more than 530,000 Catholics across 46 counties in western North Carolina. Seven percent of people are Catholic in the Charlotte metro, according to Pew Research.
What's next: Bishop Martin expects a larger state funeral to take place in Rome within the next week or so.
- The conclave, where leaders of the Catholic Church gather to select the next Pope, will take place in the coming weeks.
What they're saying: Bishop Martin says he encourages people to be aware of how they feel as they grieve the loss of Pope Francis and to turn to the Lord and their community.
- "That's the beauty of the church is that we're not in this by ourselves," Bishop Martin says.