Mourning Americans contrast Trump approach to late Pope Francis

by Andréa BAMBINO, with Ulysse Bellier in Washington

There was emotion across the United States following the death of Pope Francis, with many mourners contrasting the Argentine pontiff's gentle touch with the harshness of the current US administration.

At New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral, hundreds of Catholics gathered in mourning, including worshipper Peter who said "we lost a very good man" whose values were entirely at odds with those of President Donald Trump.

Francis "cared about (people) most of us forget about -- the poor, the downtrodden, the forgotten, and the healing power of forgiveness," said the 70-year-old, who did not provide his last name, as Catholics and tourists flocked into the imposing Gothic Cathedral opened in 1879.

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"We have a president and an administration that's turning the country in a direction that is in complete contradiction of the values that this pope espoused."

A bust of Francis stood by a side entrance, while a portrait of the late pontiff was on display nearby.

Daphne, Peter's spouse, said Francis's "focus was on the poor and the needy -- but also with immigrants."

"Our country right now is forgetting that it was built on immigrants, and that is very hurtful to us as a population," she said.

New Yorker Cathy Colecchi wept openly, describing Francis as "the pope for everyone," and praising his "inclusivity."

"I really haven't attended a mass for a very, very long time. I surprisingly find myself today, very, very sad," she said.

- 'A shock' -

Reflecting the staunchly Democratic leaning of New York City, local resident Mark Carey said "it was very strange that (US Vice President JD) Vance spoke to him and saw him yesterday, considering their conflict of issues."

Vance was one of the last visitors to the Vatican to see Francis alive, receiving a short audience with the pope before he delivered his Easter greetings to a crowd of more than 35,000 Sunday.

"Hopefully he was able to enlighten Vance," said Carey.

In the nation's capital, well-wishers gathered outside the National Cathedral of Washington to mark the passing of Francis.

"He was much more Christian than... for example, the people who are in office now who claim to be Christian, especially our president, whose name I will not say," said 71-year-old retiree Mark Smerkanich.

Some of those moved to gather following the death expressed surprise at the suddenness of the news.

"(A) total surprise, right? And some shock and also sorrow. We just saw Pope Francis on our TV screens yesterday," said Father Aquinas Guilbeau, a university chaplain at The Catholic University of America.

"News of his passing so soon after seeing him in public, it is a bit of a surprise and a shock," he added, wearing a plain cassock in front of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Outside Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Miami, Pamela Garcia, who works for a printing company, said that she had "been praying for him to heal" as his health worsened.

"But the Lord called him home and the greatest thing is that he waited until Resurrection (Sunday)," she said.

Hilda Palermo, a freelancer, said that she wanted the next pope to be "very traditional."

"I think we need people with values, to maintain the family -- and I hope he'll be a person close to God."