Vatican City, IT (WJON News) — Catholics in Minnesota and around the world are mourning the loss of Pope Francis.
The 88-year-old passed away earlier today, about a month after leaving a hospital in Rome where he was treated for various respiratory ailments.
Pope Francis’ birth name was Jorge Bergoglio and he was born in Argentina.
He was the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since the 8th Century. During his papacy, the Church faced several child sexual abuse cases involving about three-thousand priests, some of which dated back 50 years.
Pope Francis made sweeping changes that allow for greater transparency.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud encompasses 12,251 square miles in 16 central Minnesota counties, with an estimated total population of 555,400…