In August 2024, I visited with Pope Francis in Rome in his residence at Santa Marta, joined by 17 Christian clergy and lay people whose interfaith community organizing in the west and southwest under the auspices of TMO (The Metropolitan Organization), a region of IAF (Industrial Areas Foundation), brought us together. Pope Francis was deeply engaging, endearing, and genuine. His great interest in our work contrasted to his experiences in his native Buenos Aires, where community organizing was akin to rebellion. That it was also interfaith impressed him. As I reported soon after I returned, Pope Francis replied to my words to him with shared interest in the sacred difference we were aiming to make in people’s lives across our region. We left with his blessing for us and all people, and with reasons to continue to persist in humanitarian work that lifts up the vulnerable and supports all people in God’s sight.

The Jewish community mourns Pope Francis’s death and extends its sympathy to the Catholic community in the Galveston-Houston Diocese and across the world.

May the inspiration of his lifetime of sacred work continue to be observed in all people who honor sacred duties to humanity and the world.

L’Shalom,