Fort Worth bishop recalls Pope Francis’ help with ‘delicate’ challenges in diocese
Bishop Michael Olson of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth said Monday he was deeply saddened by the death of Pope Francis and that he will always remember him for his unshakable faith in the church teachings and for taking on controversies, including sexual abuse, the migration crisis and human trafficking.
Pope Francis died Monday morning at age 88, a day after delivering an Easter blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Olson said his thoughts were “conflicted” when he heard the Pope’s Easter message to the faithful gathered in St. Peter Square.
“My thoughts were conflicted. I thought it was imprudent because of his health conditions and the prescriptions put on him. Yet, I thought it was beautiful and showed his generosity and thoughtlessness until the end,” Olson said. “He never quit his job. His last words to us all were ‘Happy Easter.’ He was so dedicated to the risen Christ.”
Olson said the Diocese will celebrate Masses for the pope’s “repose” and to pray for his successor.
Olson looked back to November of 2013, when Pope Francis called him as bishop to lead the growing Fort Worth Catholic Diocese.
“When I received the call from the Nuncio, I was told the Holy Father was very much aware of the significance of the Diocese of Fort Worth as a bridge between North and South America and its importance to Texas and the United States,” he said.
Human trafficking in Texas: ‘The biggest scourge’
Olson said he will also remember Pope Francis as a leader who did not shy away from taking on difficult issues head-on such as human trafficking.
“The pope told us personally that it is the biggest scourge facing humanity today.”
The Fort Worth Diocese has launched a program to educate students and parishioners about the dangers of human trafficking.
“I will miss Pope Francis very much, and I appreciated very much his personal help to me in terms of some of the more delicate things we had to deal with in the diocese,” Olson said.
Asked for examples, Olson talked about challenges such as migration and the scandal involving “the former Carmelites and the suppressed monastery.”
Arlington nuns dismissed by Vatican
Olson was referring to the Vatican dismissing the Carmelite nuns at the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity from religious life and calling on them to repent in order to return to religious life.
But the nuns pushed back against the dismissal and are now under the authority of the St. Pius X Society.
The dismissal came after a more than year long dispute between the nuns and the diocese that began when Olson investigated a report that the nuns’ leader, the Rev. Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, broke her chastity vows with a priest from outside the diocese.
The nuns sued Olson over allegations of invasion of privacy and theft of personal property related to his investigation, but a Tarrant County judge threw out the lawsuit, ruling it was a church matter.
‘He was very well informed on these issues,” Olson said. “His availability to me and to all bishops on these issues was very much apparent to me as a bishop and as a Christian.”
The pope’s sense of humor
Olson said Pope Francis also showed his sense of humor.
Olson said he was having a conversation with the pope about five years ago about how people were “very concerned” with partisan politics and not the church teachings.
Olson said the Pope advised him to pray and read the Gospel and to ask your people to do the same.
“Pope Francis showed his sense of humor when he said, Don’t tell the people who to vote for as they will be very angry and mad at you, and that’s how you know that you did the right job.”
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 1:05 PM.