Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - With concerns over the declining health of Pope Francis in Rome, the Buffalo Catholic Diocese offered a Mass for the pontiff on Tuesday at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Downtown Buffalo.
Around 40-50 parishioners took part in Tuesday's Mass that Bishop Fisher served as the main celebrant and homilist. He knows the Western New York community will continue to pray for Pope Francis, as he recovers from a case of double pneumonia.
"We pray every day, Masses every day. And the beauty is that all around our diocese, there are Masses being said," said Bishop Fisher following Tuesday's service. "Whether we have 100 people here or two, we're two gather, there is the Lord and there is the prayer. But it's important that we come together as a faithful community. This is our mother church, St. Joseph Cathedral, so it's important that we offer our prayers for our Holy Father and for his healing and his well being."
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For local parishioners like Lucy Buell, she felt compelled to take part in Tuesday's Mass to pray a pope she believes is beloved by many across the world.
"Pope Francis, I believe, has touched so many people in so many ways. He's very inviting, he doesn't matter who you are, what you are," said Buell with WKBW-TV's Eileen Buckley. "And I remember several years ago when he told a young girl when she asked if her dog was going to go to heaven, because people had told her he wasn't. And he said, 'Of course! Of course he goes to heaven.' It's just that welcoming grace that he has."
Other parishioners like John Ben from Lockport simply took part out of respect for the pope.
"He was kind of different, had a different background. A little more liberal than the previous popes, which is all right with me. I respect him and honor him," said Ben on Tuesday.
While Pope Francis continues to recover and show slight signs of improvement, Bishop Fisher feels one legacy of Pope Francis that should continue well beyond his time as pope is the accompaniment of people and listening to one another.
"We may not have the answers and we may not have the solutions to everything, but that we're walking with one another," Bishop Fisher said. "And again, his whole image as a pastor, I think, is a beautiful one that all of us can always learn from. Whether it's the Bishop of the Diocese or our priests and our deacons and our people."
Listen to the entire service available in the player below: