El Pasoan who helped build Juárez altar remembers Pope Francis
Rosemary Montañez
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)– Following the news of the death of Pope Francis, many El Pasoans are weighing in on his death. In 2016, the Pope made a stop in Ciudad Juarez at a time when the city was still healing from the aftermath of a drug war.
The CEO of Perches Funeral Homes, Salvador Perches, worked closely with the Vatican to build the altar the Pope used during mass. Perches said the Borderland will never forget his visit.
“It’s just something so big. I think our city needed it for many, many reasons. And, and for our community here, I think for El Paso, Juarez and Las Cruces, it was just a beautiful thing that people came from—even other states and cities from around. So I just think it was a big thing,” he said.
The Pope’s visit to Juarez remains in the minds of many Catholics, including Perches. The CEO of the funeral home donated labor and materials to construct the altar. He said he was feet away from Pope Francis during his visit.
“It was just so special to be there and to see the Pope kissing the altar and touching it and something that we had created and I helped personally, you know, set it up and all that. So it was just really neat,” Perches added.
He also said he remembers the Pope’s prayer that helped unite people of all nationalities that day.
“Just so, just so peaceful and and so nice. And, of course, him being from Argentina, his Spanish was just perfect. So that just made that so much more special and, so that was really neat.”
Perches said he plans on putting together a signature book and personally delivering it to the Vatican. If you are interested in signing the book, you can find one at each Perches Funeral Home location across the city. Prayer cards are also available.