Bishop Flores conducts Masses for Pope Francis in Rio Grande Valley

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The world is mourning the passing of Pope Francis. In the Rio Grande Valley, there will be two masses held for the late pontiff.

On Tuesday, Bishop Daniel Flores held a public mass for the repose of his soul at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville.

In a public statement Bishop Flores said, "His words and example have challenged us to think more of others than of ourselves, more of those who suffer than of our own pursuits of comfort, more of our mission to enact the mind of Christ in the world than to seek the aims of worldly mediocrity. To take these lessons to heart, to put them in practice, is first of all to honor Christ the Lord. This is what Pope Francis, like a good shepherd, most desired for us to do."

A second mass will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle.

Francis passed away on Monday at the age of 88 from a stroke that put him into a coma and led to heart failure, according to the Vatican.