Requiem service held at St Patrick’s Cathedral for Pope Francis

Hundreds of Catholics joined our civic leaders to reflect on the life and teachings of the late pope.

Requiem service held at St Patrick Cathedral for the late Pope Francis.

The life and work of Pope Francis was remembered during a requiem service at St Patrick Cathedral, with Bishop Ken Howell celebrating the late-Pontiff’s dedication to people living on the fringes of society.

“One could not help but get caught up in a person who had such a genuine smile and an honest warmth that was evident each time we saw him,” Bishop Howell said.

“Yet the more significant encounters were through his teachings and his passionate vision of what the church can and should be.

“Who will ever forget the phrase he coined, that the church should be a field hospital for the wounded of the world.”

“This theme of seeking out the least and the last became a constant one.”

About 400 members of Toowoomba’s catholic congregation, about a dozen political and civic leaders attended the service.

It came as Pope Francis was laid to rest following a service in Rome at the weekend.

The 88-year-old leader died last week after suffering a stroke and heart failure.

Bishop Howell said Pope Francis would be remembered as a champion of the poor and disenfranchised.

“He clearly proclaimed that if you exploit the world’s resources for your own benefit, you exploit the poor who suffer as a consequence, as well as having an adverse effect on the environment, which is always a gift from God,” he said.

“Francis cared passionately for the cast-off of society, he broke Vatican protocol by visiting a prison on Holy Thursday to celebrate mass and wash the feet of the prisoners.

“Even in his frail condition 10 days ago, he visited the Regina Coeli Prison on Holy Thursday.

“He instituted a World Day of the Poor and on that day invited Rome’s street people to have dinner with him.”