Archbishop holds masses for Pope Francis, including Spanish mass in Dayton

Italian CGIL Union leader Maurizio Landini, left, greets Pope Francis at the end of an audience with the CGIL Italian union members in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. (AP PHOTO/ALESSANDRA TARANTINO

Italian CGIL Union leader Maurizio Landini, left, greets Pope Francis at the end of an audience with the CGIL Italian union members in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. (AP PHOTO/ALESSANDRA TARANTINO

Cincinnati’s new archbishop, Robert Casey, will hold four regional memorial masses for Pope Francis.

The masses are part of the 30 days of mourning after Pope Francis’ death.

Masses will be held at 7 p.m. April 28 at St. Michael Church, Ft. Loramie; May 5 at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Centerville; and May 21 at Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains, Cincinnati.

One of the regional masses will be the first Spanish Mass by an Archbishop of Cincinnati for the Hispanic community. Archbishop Casey is fluent in Spanish. That mass will be at 7 p.m. May 12 at Immaculate Conception Church in Dayton.

The Vatican announced that Pope Francis died on Monday, April 21, one day after Easter.

The pope had recently been released from the hospital after complications of pneumonia in both lungs, but the Vatican said the pope’s death was due to a cerebral stroke leading to a coma and irreversible heart failure.

He was 88 years old.

Pope Francis made an impact on many people in the Tri-State, including a Green Township couple who met him during their honeymoon to Italy in 2017.

Many local and state leaders also paid tribute to Pope Francis upon learning about his death, including Vice President JD Vance, who briefly met with the pope one day before his death.

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