Pope Francis created an atmosphere of mercy and encounter around the world, Detroit priests say as conclave nears
DETROIT — Fr. Ryan Asher feels incredibly blessed to have met Pope Francis three times as a student in Rome. On Saturday, Fr. Asher was granted another unimaginable blessing as he concelebrated the funeral Mass for the pontiff, who died on April 21.
As a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Detroit, Fr. Asher studied in Rome for four years. After his ordination by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron in May 2024, Fr. Asher returned to Rome last fall, where he will complete his licentiate degree in sacred theology this June.
Fr. Asher didn’t anticipate so much change in just seven months.
“I left Michigan praying for Archbishop Allen (Vigneron) and Pope Francis, and now when I come back in June, both names will be different,” Fr. Asher told Detroit Catholic, referring to the March 18 installation of new Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger.
When Pope Francis died on April 21, Fr. Asher was traveling in northern Italy with his parents, Roy and Judy Asher, after celebrating the Triduum together in Rome. They returned to Rome on April 24 and made their way to St. Peter’s Basilica to pray at Pope Francis’ coffin as he lay in state.
More than 200 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests concelebrated Pope Francis’ funeral Mass. Fr. Asher took his seat at 7 a.m. for the 10 a.m. funeral. He was seated beside his classmates and in the same row as Fr. David Pellican, another Detroit priest studying dogmatic sacramental theology in Rome.
“It’s a powerful experience in the universal Church, especially with so many priests all gathered together to offer Mass for the repose of the soul of the pope. The Church’s funeral liturgy is always evocative and richly symbolic, but this one especially so,” Fr. Asher said. “It’s a defining moment in the life of the Church; it’s the Church being the Church.”
Pope Francis left an imprint on Fr. Asher’s own young priesthood, especially as Fr. Asher prepares to return to parish ministry this summer.
“His legacy will take a little time for everyone to unpack, including me personally, but Pope Francis had a simplicity about him, not seeking to draw attention to himself,” Fr. Asher said. “Especially since being in Rome, I very much enjoyed his homilies, which is where his Jesuit background would come out.”
Fr. Asher is a graduate of University of Detroit Jesuit High School. Pope Francis was the first Jesuit to be elected pope.
“I was moved by his insights into spiritual life and prayer, with awareness of the movements of the Holy Spirit and those of the contrary spirit, the evil one. That focus is very much Ignatian and Jesuit,” Fr. Asher said.
In Rome, Fr. Asher attended Pope Francis’ Sunday Angelus and reflection in St. Peter’s Square whenever he could.
“I was grateful for his passion for evangelization,” Fr. Asher said. “In my own homilies, I like to share something I’ve heard Pope Francis say: ‘Knowing Jesus is the best gift that any person can receive; that we have encountered Him is the best thing that has happened in our lives, and making him known by our word and deeds is our joy.’”
The sentiment, sometimes quoted by Pope Francis, was first expressed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 at a synod of Latin American and Caribbean bishops in Aparecida, Brazil.
“For me, that sums up my call to the priesthood quite succinctly and quite beautifully — to be compelled by the desire of the heart which God has placed within me, and to share that Gospel with others,” Fr. Asher said.
Like Fr. Asher, fellow Detroit priest Fr. Dave Tomaszycki studied in Rome for five years. He was ordained in 2016.
Fr. Tomaszycki was in Rome when Pope Benedict XVI stepped down from the papacy. Thirteen days later, the conclave began, and then-seminarian Fr. Tomaszycki and his classmates decided to forego the classroom for St. Peter’s Square. Pope Francis was elected on a rainy March day, and because most people in the square were holding umbrellas and standing a few feet apart, Fr. Tomaszycki and friends were able to skirt the umbrellas and work their way to the front of the crowd. When the white smoke drifted up from the Sistine Chapel that evening, Fr. Tomaszycki was standing along the front gate. A half hour later, he got his first glimpse of Pope Francis on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
A few months later, Fr. Tomaszycki served Mass for Pope Francis. He gave the Holy Father his zucchetto, which the pontiff wore during the Mass. In his parish internship the summer before, Fr. Tomaszycki met a parishioner who made rosaries. The man gave Fr. Tomaszycki two rosaries, one of which Fr. Tomaszycki presented to Pope Francis that day. Pope Francis listened to the story about the parishioner and thanked Fr. Tomaszycki for the gift.
Two weeks before his ordination in 2016, Fr. Tomaszycki met Pope Francis again, when the Holy Father blessed the chalice Fr. Tomaszycki has used since becoming a priest.
“Pope Francis was all about encounter — encountering others and encountering God. That means truly encountering people and seeing them as human beings, not diminishing them,” Fr. Tomaszycki said.
Pope Francis proclaimed 2016 the Year of Mercy, or the Jubilee of Mercy, the same year Fr. Tomaszycki was ordained.
“Mercy was a huge theme for him. I’m a sinner so I need mercy, and I’m a priest so I dispense God’s mercy,” said Fr. Tomaszycki, who currently serves as priest-secretary to Archbishop Weisenburger. “Pope Francis was always encouraging us to err on the side of mercy.”
As the conclave begins on May 7 to select a new pope, Fr. Asher plans to stay close to St. Peter’s Square to see the twice-a-day smoke from the Sistine Chapel.
“If I am not in the square when there are reports of white smoke, I will be running off to the square ASAP,” Fr. Asher said.
He hopes that, like Fr. Tomaszycki, he’ll be there to see the white smoke rise, hear the bells ring, and witness the new Holy Father make his first appearance to the faithful gathered there.
