On May 1 at 7 p.m. Sts. Joachim and Ann Church at 2827 273 St. in Aldergrove will hold a service for Pope Francis.

"To entrust Pope Francis to the merciful arms of God, we are going to be having a memorial mass, praying for the repose of his soul," Pastor Lawrence Donnelly told the Aldergrove Star.

"He was very loved by the parishioners here."

Everyone is welcome to attend, Father Donnelly said.

He described Pope Francis as "a very remarkable person,:

"He reminded us of the importance of caring for those in need," Donnelly said. "It's always a good reminder for us to do that, and also his humility was great, you know, it's a wonderful example to us."

"And also, the efforts he made for peace, and how welcoming he was to all, and reminding us of the basic message of Christianity, which is, Jesus Christ and how he is our Lord and Saviour. And because of that, we are to love everyone, you know, even our enemies, with the same love that Christ had for all humanity."

Father Donelly said the Easter Monday passing was unexpected because it appeared the 88-year old pontiff was on the mend after a lengthy hospital stay for treatment of bronchitis that became pneumonia in both lungs.

"Things were going very poorly at one point, but it seemed like he was out of the woods. So it was a bit of a shock that he had passed away."

A Vatican statement identified the cause of death as a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.

Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, issued the official certification, and the Holy See Press Office released the report Monday night.

According to the medical report, the Pope had a prior history of acute respiratory failure caused by multimicrobial bilateral pneumonia, multiple bronchiectases, high blood pressure, and Type II diabetes.

Pope Francis made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday to bless thousands in St. Peter's square, following a brief meeting with U.S. vice-president JD Vance.

Born , the first from the Americas, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.

In 2022, the Pope travelled to Canada to make a long-awaited public apology for the Catholic church鈥檚 role in the residential school system in Canada.

鈥淚 have come to your native lands to tell you in person of my sorrow to implore God鈥檚 forgiveness, healing and reconciliation, to express my closeness and to pray with you and for you,鈥� Pope Francis said. 鈥淚 humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous Peoples.鈥�