THE
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
|
T u e s d ay, a p r i l 22, 2025
$2.00X
POPE FRANCIS: Dec. 17, 1936 - April 21, 2025
‘He embraced all people’ Wanted church to be a refuge for everyone
Was willing to shake up scandal-ridden church
Easter blessing was his final public farewell
Cause of death was a stroke that led to heart failure
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MATT ROURKE
Pope Francis waves to the crowd during a procession in Philadelphia in 2015.
Francis’ humble style charmed the world BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change, died Monday. He was 88. The Vatican said Francis suffered a stroke which led to a coma and his heart to fail, as he recovered from a five-week hospitalization for double pneumonia. His funeral and burial at Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major across town are expected over the weekend. Bells tolled in Catholic churches from his native Argentina to the
Diocese of Lafayette mourns passing of Pope
INSIDE
ä JD Vance was one of last leaders to meet with Pope Francis. Page 4A ä Several cardinals considered frontrunners to be the next Pope. Page 5A ä What happens next? Page 5A Philippines and across Rome as news spread around the world. “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell said from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta, where Francis lived.
ä See POPE, page 4A
Recent hospitalization lasted 38 days
BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALESSANDRA TARANTINO
Faithful fill St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for a rosary prayer for the late Pope Francis on Monday.
The Diocese of Lafayette and Lafayette’s Catholic community on Monday mourned the passing of Pope Francis, who died early Monday morning at the age 88 at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. Lafayette Bishop Douglas Deshotel released a statement saying a special diocesan memorial Mass will be announced. Deshotel said Francis called on everyone to reach out to those who are marginalized, called out the futility of war and urged nations to look for peaceful ways to resolve their differences. “He also called us to be good stewards of creation and to see in the beauty of creation of the
ä See DIOCESE, page 5A
With two cases identified in La., hospitals prepping for measles BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer
Before he crossed the hospital room, Dr. Mark Kline already knew what he was looking at. A child admitted to a Dallas hospital in the late 1980s had been sick for days with a fever, rash and no clear diagnosis.
WEATHER HIGH 82 LOW 70 PAGE 8A
“That’s measles,” said Kline, an infectious disease expert who recognized the signs from treating hundreds of cases in Uganda earlier in his career. None of the pediatricians or nurses had considered it. They’d never treated a case. Decades later, the same unfamiliarity with a disease thought to be eliminated could ripple through
emergency rooms in Louisiana as hospitals prepare for the possibility of local cases amid a nationwide outbreak. With two cases identified in Louisiana and vaccination rates slipping below the threshold for community protection, hospitals are preparing by educating their staff on symptoms and reviewing
protocols for isolation and contact tracing. Many health care providers in Louisiana have never seen a case outside of a textbook. “Most of them are too young to have actually seen a case with their own eyes,” said Kline, now physician in chief at Manning Family Children’s in New Orleans. Louisiana’s first case was
Business ...................10C Commentary ................3B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................4B Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C
announced by the state Health Department on Saturday in an unvaccinated adult who had recently traveled internationally was treated for measles at a New Orleans-area hospital. That person is not hospitalized and is now in isolation. As officials contacted
ä See MEASLES, page 6A
100TH yEAR, NO. 296