Even as they began the busy work of transferring episcopal responsibility for Vancouver, it was the health of Pope Francis that was on everyone’s mind as the Holy Father announced Archbishop Richard Smith would be the next Archbishop of Vancouver.

Speaking at a live-streamed press conference in Edmonton, Smith said he was heartened by the outpouring of prayers he has been seeing for the Holy Father.

“What I have found beautiful over the last little while has been how the whole world has rallied in prayer for Pope Francis,” he said.

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“He is the Pope, he is the head of the Church, he is our father. When a loved one is ill, you just rally, and you pray. You pray for God’s will. You pray for his recovery. It’s just so moving to see how beloved Pope Francis is to the whole world and how that has manifested in this outpouring of prayer.”

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Smith worked closely with the Pope during the historic papal visit to Canada in July 2022. The fact that Francis made the visit while his health was failing made it all the more remarkable, Smith said.

Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller expressed similar sentiments. 

“I know that people are praying for (Pope Francis) around the world,” he told reporters outside Holy Rosary Cathedral.

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During a Jubilee year dedicated to hope, he observed that there is something hopeful about the tradition of a Pope’s commitment to his ministry during illness, even to the end of his life.

“Many of you remember the sickness of JPII, suffering from Parkinson’s. People were encouraged by the witness he gave,” he said.