Written by leaders and organizers from The Metropolitan Organization (TMO), EPISO/Border Interfaith, COPS/Metro, and Central Texas Interfaith

Last year, Pope Francis met with a group of community organizers and leaders in his private residence. It was the third time he’d met with us, members of the Texas IAF and colleagues from the West/Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation. This time, he counseled us not to lose the ability to laugh.

Pope Francis was interested in our organizing work because he wanted to uplift those on the margins, the powerless, the migrant.

He found commonality across our differences.

After Rabbi David Lyon (photo below, left) of The Metropolitan Organization (TMO) shared his story during our visit last in 2024, Pope Francis noted that Christians and Jews share a profound interest in making a sacred difference in people’s lives. He encouraged us to persist in this work to lift up the vulnerable and support all people in God’s sight.

Bishop John Ogletree (top photo, left) of TMO shared how imperative it was that we organize together so that people have the power to make a difference. Pope Francis encouraged us to actually live what Jesus taught about love, compassion, forgiveness, peace, and human dignity.

Pope Francis understood the importance of listening in our local work to carry out the synod, saying:

“Listening is also taking responsibility, isn’t it? When I listen, I take responsibility. When you take responsibility for a situation, it touches your heart, and you must do something. People aren’t used to listening. And that’s what true catechesis does. Listening and teaching others how to listen.”

Pope Francis listened carefully as EPISO / Border Interfaith Leader Sylvia Camacho (photo above, right) spoke of her work with San Juan Diego Catholic Church in Montana Vista. He responded, saying: 

“Men and women like these are those who make history. They don’t conform to limits. Surely they have been criticized a lot. But the people listen to the criticism, as humbly as they can, and they keep moving forward.”

As a 40-year leader with EPISO/Border Interfaith, Father Pablo Matta (photo above) shared how organizing to bring water and sewage to tens of thousands of people in las colonias shaped the way he pastored his people. He said:

“Pope Francis confirmed what we have been living and working on all along. We were lifting up the person who had been ignored. Change requires friction. Standing with the most vulnerable, with those with the least power will not always be popular. But what I learned from the pope is that we are on the right track.” 

“He encouraged us to see every encounter in life as an opportunity to encounter Christ. Our own brokenness poured into the encounter of another’s brokenness creates a pathway forward." said Fr. Jimmy Drennan, (top photo, right) COPS/Metro leader.  Said COPS/Metro leader Sonia Rodriguez (photo below):

“He was so attentive to each of us…He greeted each person one by one…asked me how many grandchildren I had, and over the 90-minute meeting, we…had a dialogue with the Pope about our hopes and our dreams." 

Central Texas Interfaith (CTI) leader Rev. Minerva Camarena Skeith (top photo, center) said:

“What impressed me the most is how well he understood the work we do around the development of leaders and creating a culture of solidarity."

In a video message (below) to the West/Southwest IAF in 2023, the pontiff said he was impressed that we always start with concrete situations, not from the world of ideas.

Texas IAF leaders feel the loss of a great leader, a person of peace, who dedicated his life to living out the Gospel with humility and courage. 

Pope Francis Cared About Houston. We Must Carry on his Work | Opinion, Houston Chronicle [pdf]

Francis was a Pope Who Listened to Those on the Margins, El Paso Matters [pdf]

SA Priest Reflects on Experience Meeting Pope Francis and the Impact on his Journey to Priesthood KENS5

Today on SA News: Remembering Pope Francis we speak with Fr. Jimmy Drennan of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church SA about his time he spent with Pope Francis late last summer. CTSA Catholic Television of San Antonio

In Deeply Catholic San Antonio, Mourners Reflect on the Life and Leadership of Pope Francis San Antonio Report [pdf]

Amor Concreto: The Legacy of Pope Francis, Central Texas Interfaith