Wyoming Catholics React To Death Of Pope Francis With Eye To Future For Church

The pews sat empty Wednesday afternoon three days after Easter at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Casper. Spring light filtered in through the stained-glass windows, and a faint smell of Easter lilies hung in the air.

At the strike of 1 p.m., as the sound of bells showered down from the campanile tower and filled the vaulted space with reverberation, a sole parishioner stepped through the door.

Dressed in a cotton cardigan, basketball shorts, white tube socks and sneakers, retired military medic Hubert Townsend wasn’t planning on making a chapel call when he left the house earlier. But he fell into a little extra time between errands and instantly headed here.

Catholicism has been top of mind for Townsend this week following the Monday death of the faith’s leader, Pope Francis, an often-controversial figure and man of firsts: the first pope from the Americas, the first from the Jesuit order and the first to take the name Francis.

His passing has invoked a color wheel of emotion for Wyoming’s Catholics, a highly diverse group whose approach to the faith can seem as individual as the panes of glass in a stained mosaic, but nonetheless held fast by ritual and community.

“For me it’s about the ritual, tradition and the pageantry. I’m what you call a cafeteria Catholic,” Townsend said. “We believe in a lot of the doctrine, but some of it we don’t go along with. We kind of pick and choose.”

Among the principles he abides in is service, and his trunk is filled with eyeglasses to be donated to families in need as part of his volunteer work with Lions International.

But there are also ways in which he differed from the church under Francis. He wished the pope had pushed the envelope and appointed female priests, citing his fandom of the “numero-uno apostle, Mary Magdalene.” 

On the other hand, he lamented that Francis was not harsher on pro-life advocates and politicians like former President Joe Biden, believing the pope should have intervened to preclude the former president from receiving communion.

The pope’s passing leads Townsend to reflect on his own conversion to Catholicism in 1994, motivated in part by his high regard for then Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who’s said to have played an important role in the downfall of Soviet communism. 

Francis’ death results in a mixed mass of feelings for parishioners worldwide, and for Townsend, chief among them is excitement.

“I was in the military 38 years. I’ve seen death. It didn't shock me, and we knew it was coming. I think he’s probably going where he needs to go, promoted to greater glory,” he said. “I guess I’m more excited to see who the new pope is.”

A Different Kind Of Pope

Across town at St. Patrick’s Church in Casper, Aaron Miller harbors different feelings as he awaits a new pope.

Miller, 32, was an atheist from a family of non-believers. 

When he turned 30, he set out on a quest for structure, community and something to believe in. He was led to Catholicism, in no small part for the inspiration he found in Pope Francis, whose relatively liberal approach to world issues resonated with his own. 

“What I liked about Francis is that he was much more liberal than popes in the past,” said Miller, who was baptized on Easter 2024. “In my opinion, he’s helped transition the church into a more modern era.

“I liked that he would speak out about gun violence and speak out about antisemitism. I liked that he was a big advocate for all religions and any of us who believe in the One God.” 

Though he jokingly describes himself as “half Catholic, half atheist,” his commitments are strong. 

For Lent, Miller said he gave up his favorite activity, basketball, to the chagrin of his rec league teammates. He sacrifices sleep to volunteer as an adoration minister, showing up at 4 a.m. to help sustain a round-the-clock vigil referred to as Holy Hour.

“I find a lot of value in just believing in something, even if I'm halfway lying myself, because I didn't really believe in anything before, and that’ll leave you wandering in the desert.”

While his participation at St. Patrick’s has always left him feeling gratitude, the dominant emotions he feels now are twofold. 

“There’s sadness. I can't really think of a better word for it. And then there's the forward looking. Who's next and how will he be. For me there’s a little worry about who will be next,” said Miller, who is a sales professional in the culinary industry.

Miller’s in-laws, on the other hand, are staunch conservatives, and he believes they are excitedly holding their breath with the hope of a more traditionalist successor to Francis.

Although, this dichotomy calls attention to the fact that what made Francis controversial is also what made him unifying: He helped encourage seekers like Miller to sit beside people of disparate political persuasions and appreciate their shared values.

“That was one of the things he was really good at — preaching tolerance and acceptance,” Miller said.

Member Of The Family

The news landed differently still for Mary K Turner, 83, who’s all but established a second residence in the pews of Our Lady of the Mountain church in Jackson since the pope's death.

Turner is a Catholic from birth, and said her connection to Francis feels inexplicably personal.

“It feels like I just lost a close friend. I don't mean that in an imperious way, but I felt he wanted to be as close as a friend to everybody and not just a leader, but someone who was accompanying us all on our journey in life,” said Turner, speaking by phone from the church, which is 25 miles from the Teton County ranch where she’s lived since 1969. 

It’s a common sensibility among Catholics, said to Associate Pastor Fr. Philip Vanderlin, who explained that parishioners simultaneously relate to the pope as both a flawless godly figure and a person just like them — authoritative and pastoral, in church terminology.

As though with personal familiarity of the Pope's physical body, Vanderlin explained, mourners will touch or caress the image of Francis framed on an easel beside the altar, his likeness animated by the flickering hue of a red candle sconce.

“In the church we believe he’s the vicar of Christ on earth. And he’s also like a member of the family. We treat the pope like a member of our family because he’s such a special person in our lives,” Vanderlin said.

Turner is a co-founder of the nonprofit Holy Land Christian Society, which for 22 years has helped support hospitals, orphanages and schools in and around Palestine. She says Francis has electrified her nonprofit efforts through his own examples in the region. 

She cites an impromptu moment in which he kissed a wall separating Israel and Palestine, as well as his concern for the vulnerable communities in Gaza.

“Every single day he called a little Catholic church in Gaza. It wasn't for deep theological discussion. It was to ask them how they were doing and if they had enough to eat,” said Turner, who laments that Francis was attacked on political grounds, and says rather than taking aim, detractors should have taken note.

“It was just a simple caring from his heart, to let them know he was supporting them in prayer and love,” she added. “He was a humble man who really understood the pain of those suffering in the world. It's easy to forget and lose touch with the people that are suffering. But he never did. He always connected with those who had so little in life. 

“It's an example of a kind of world leader I deeply respect.”

Demographic Force

As the first Spanish speaking pope from the Americas, Francis has doubly inspired the church’s growing Hispanic membership, including Jackson resident Victor Perez.

Perez got the news of Francis’ passing at 7 a.m. Easter Monday, and immediately made arrangements in order to be in the pews for the 8:00 a.m. mass, his wife and two daughters beside him.

“The first thing I’ll say is that it was really sad to get the news. Of course, there were some tears. We all have the feeling that we are losing something important,” he said. “But we don’t feel hopelessness because our hope is eternal life. That is our goal as every Christian.”

Perez, a bilingual Mexican-American small business owner, represents a key dynamic in the church’s shifting membership.

Catholicism sees a higher degree of “religious switching” than any other Christian faith, meaning the loss of members to other denominations, Gregory Smith, senior associate director of research at Pew Research Center, told Cowboy State Daily previously.

For every one convert to Catholicism, it loses another eight members to religious switching. Yet its share of the U.S. population has remained relatively stable in response to America’s growing Hispanic population, whose preference for Catholicism has been bolstered by Francis.

“It’s so good to hear a religious message in your [native] language,” said Perez.

Vanderlin estimates that more than half of Jackson’s Catholic community is Latino, while Anglos make up around one third. He says Francis helped invigorate church participation from Latin and Hispanic communities, and hopes that next pope will build on those gains. 

“It’s a two way street. We keep the memory of Pope Francis, but we can't get a new one because you don’t like the vacancy,” said Vanderlin, a self-declared “pope watcher.” “It’s dramatic for me.”

Masses For The Dead

The dramatic moment will come with the conclusion of the coming conclave when between 134 and 138 of the church’s Cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel to cast their votes for the next church leader.

For now, parishioners are praying for Francis and meditating on the example and legacy he leaves behind.

“He just was such a simple man who showed us what tender little actions can be,” said Turner. “And that's what I'm going to try to remember each day I wake up — what is it today that might make a little difference in someone's life, because I've sure been blessed.”

Parishioners in the Diocese of Cheyenne will conduct Masses for the Dead for Pope Francis on 6:30 a.m. Monday at Saint Anthony Church in Casper; and 6:45 a.m. Tuesday at the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Cheyenne. 

The services will be conducted by Bishop Steven Biegler, and will be livestreamed.

Zakary Sonntag can be reached at zakary@cowboystatedaily.com.