Cardinals from around the world will gather Tuesday at the Vatican to begin choosing a new pope, a process that will have wide-ranging implications for the future of the Roman Catholic Church and its 1.4 billion followers.

Catholics in New Orleans, home to the second-oldest diocese in the U.S., have widely differing views on the legacy of Pope Francis, who died April 21, and the direction they want his successor to take the church.

There are many who embraced his emphasis on mercy and inclusion over dogma and doctrine, while many others think he strayed too far from tradition in opening the 2,000-year-old institution to a greater acceptance of same-sex marriage, women's participation in the church and other issues.

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Catholics gather for the Memorial Mass for Pope Francis at the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)

Shella Baham, who came of age in the years of the liberal, post-Vatican II church, said she wants the next pope to continue Francis’ focus on marginalized communities and humble service.

“He was a voice for the people,” said Baham, a member of Holy Ghost Parish in Hammond. “We need that in the next pope.”

Then there are culturally conservative Catholics like Billie Butler, who believes Francis “was a good, kind man” but hopes his successor is less political and more rooted in traditional teachings.

Vicki Judice, a progressive Catholic and member of the Hope House faith community group in New Orleans, said she applauded Francis' efforts but hopes the next pope will go farther to move the church toward allowing women and married priests.

There’s also a growing segment of doctrinally conservative Catholics, like Simon Templet, 20, who believe Francis steered the church in the wrong direction and hopes the next pope will course correct.

“I would hope the next pope would be more friendly to the Latin Mass,” Templet said after attending the 9:30 a.m. Latin Mass last Sunday at St. Patrick’s in the Warehouse District. “The parishes that have Latin Mass are seeing the most growth.”

Reversing the trend?

Whoever is elected in the coming days to be the 267th pope will inherit a church at a crossroads.

For much of the past 60 years, the Catholic church has been losing ground locally and nationwide. Though the number of Roman Catholics in the U.S. has increased by around 40% since 1965, fewer than one in five now attends weekly Mass. In the 1970s, more than half did, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, or CARA, an independent Catholic research database based at Georgetown University.

During that same period, baptisms declined 60% and the number of Catholic elementary schools fell by nearly 65%.

In the New Orleans area, an aging and shrinking population is compounding the problem. After Hurricane Katrina, the Archdiocese of New Orleans closed 27 churches and merged 40 parishes. Last summer, it further downsized, closing or consolidating 13 parishes into five newly combined parishes.

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A woman kneels and makes the sign of the Cross as she enters St. Patrick's Church in downtown New Orleans on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 for a Solemn Requiem Mass for Pope Francis. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)

Those dwindling numbers directly imperil the financial health of a massive institution that, in the case of New Orleans, is also dealing with the fallout of the clergy sex abuse scandal and resulting bankruptcy case.

But there are signs the declines may be slowing. Over the recent Easter weekend, 570 new Catholics were baptized into the local church, a 20% increase over last year, according to Archbishop Gregory Aymond. Mass attendance is also on the upswing, rising nearly 10% since 2023 and 60% since COVID-era lows.

"This is definitely a sign of hope for our local church," Aymond said.

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Parishioners at St. Patrick's Church in downtown New Orleans for the Solemn Requiem Mass for Pope Francis on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)

Though data is not available to show where the growth is coming from locally, reports suggest that nationally, it is coming from a new, vocal and devout generation of conservative Catholics, who are playing an outsized role in shaping the future of the church.

A rise in conservatism

Monsignor Chris Nalty, pastor of Good Shepherd Parish at the Basilica of St. Stephen’s on Napoleon Avenue, believes the pockets of growth, whether locally, nationally or globally, are occurring in conservative parishes and communities because the rules and traditional rituals provide moral certainty in a world where it seems like anything goes.

“People need clarity and authenticity,” he said. “Pope Francis promoted too much ambiguity.”

At St. Stephen’s, Nalty celebrates a Latin Mass every Tuesday evening that attracts worshippers from across the city, including a dozen or so Tulane and Loyola university students. He says they come because the Latin Mass, which Francis discouraged, is sacred, ancient and unchanging.

“It’s a beautiful ritual and it’s not about the priest and his showmanship. It’s about God,” he said. “It’s unambiguous.”

At St. Patrick’s, as many as 400 worshippers attend the 9:30 a.m. Latin Mass every Sunday. They come from around the metro area and represent different faces of the church's conservative wing — Uptown men in seersucker suits and white bucks; young families with multiple children in tow; women wearing mantillas, the traditional head coverings that were required until the Vatican II reforms.

After the Sunday Mass at St. Patrick's, a young mother with four children under the age of 9 said she believes it’s important for the next pope to do more to “prioritize family life, especially for young married couples.” She declined to give her name.

Templet said he hopes the next pope is “less political,” even on issues like concern for the environment.

“The environment doesn’t need to be an issue for the pope to take on,” he said.

Importance of being Christlike 

Despite criticism by conservative Catholics who hope the next pope will steer the church in a more traditional direction, Pope Francis was popular with the vast majority of Catholics.

More than 78% of Catholics surveyed by the Pew Center earlier this year had a favorable or very favorable impression of him.

“There is an informed and vocal minority that didn’t like him,” said Tom Ryan, a professor of theology at Loyola University. “But I think most people viewed him as a nice guy. They liked how he smiled, how he was warm and welcoming.”

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A woman dips her fingers into Holy Water before the start of the Solemn Requiem Mass for Pope Francis at St. Patrick's Church in downtown New Orleans on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)

That inclusiveness resonated with Felix Urrutia, a 20-year-old student at Loyola who drives across town from his home in Harahan for the 11 a.m. Spanish Mass at Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Parish in Bywater.

On a recent Sunday, Urrutia stopped to chat in the garden next to the historic church, where women from the parish were making tortillas on a portable griddle to give out after Mass.

“He was open to the younger generation, and he defied the rules," Urrutia said. “He took the big picture into account. We need more of that.”

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Attendees sit in the pews during the Memorial Mass for Pope Francis at the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)

Ellen Lee, a parishioner at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Treme, is trying to leave the question up to a higher power.

After a memorial Mass for the pope at St. Louis Cathedral on April 21, Lee said Pope Francis emulated the life of Jesus Christ in everything he did — eschewing power, advocating for the poor and preaching mercy and forgiveness.

“I hope our next pope is also Christlike, however that manifests,” she said. “If our new pope is Christlike, we’ll be OK.”

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate.com.

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