MONTREAL – Hundreds of people gathered Friday at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral in downtown Montreal to say good-bye to one of the city’s most respected religious figures.
“He was our cardinal,” said Ann Ascoli, who came out to the funeral.
“He was our leader for years.”
Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte passed away on April 8 after a lengthy illness related to diabetes.
“He was like, the model of all of us that we try.,” said Layla Protopapa.
“Some of us fail and some of us go off track but you know, he was like the rock.”
GALLERY: People pay last respects to Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte
It’s an emotional day for many.
“I need to be here,” Protopapa told Global News.
“It’s not like I want to be here. I need to be here.”
“He’s part of us,” agreed Marie-Antoinette Spratt, who came from Ottawa to bit farewell to the Cardinal.
“He’s very humble.”
Cardinal Turcotte spent 22 years as the Archbishop of Montreal, known as a people’s man and a champion of the poor.
“Bringing back the sense that we need to find again in our society that sense of empathy,” said Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard of Turcotte’s memory.
“This is what I will keep, what we will keep as a memory.”
Mourners came from all walks of life to celebrate Turcotte’s many achievements.
“He was a man of faith, a man of conviction but he is also living in a modern world with a lot of challenges,” said Steven Blaney, Federal Minister of Public Safety.
“He was able to live following his faith, but also to be open to the world around him.”
Pointe-Claire mayor Morris Trudeau told Global News he will always remember Turcotte’s love of Montreal.
“I think of Jean Beliveau. I think of Maurice Richard and the funerals that he has taken care of over his career,” said Trudeau.
“He’s just an icon in Montreal.”
Cardinal Turcotte leaves behind a legacy of compassion and humility.
“The dignity, the self-esteem, the respect that he showed, that he proved,” said Montreal mayor Denis Coderre.
“Just for me, we lost a monument but we gained an inspiration.”
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
Follow @rachel_lau
Comments