Pope's death resonates at LI Jesuit parish

Pope Francis death hit home especially hard at Long Island’s only parish run by Jesuits, the religious order to which Francis belonged. Francis was the first Jesuit pope in the 2,000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church.

“We are all saddened here, as a pope and as a fellow Jesuit. It hits home a little bit more,” said the Rev. James Donovan, pastor of St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church in Oceanside.

He added that he and another Jesuit at his parish, the Rev. Bret Stockdale, were ordained in June 2013, making them among the first Jesuits ordained with Francis as pope.

Francis “wrote and spoke really as a pastor,” Donovan said. “His words were accessible to all people. You didn’t have to have a degree in theology to understand him.”