American Catholics mourned the loss of Pope Francis on Monday, with many remembering a pontiff who they said had made the Roman Catholic Church more welcoming and compassionate by his words and his demeanor, though some wished he had done even more to change the institution.

On the day after Easter, many made their way to early services to grieve the loss of a spiritual leader whose health they had closely followed, praying for his recovery during and after a lengthy hospitalization. They had rejoiced in seeing him on television greeting the faithful at St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday, only to wake up and find that he was gone.

Losing him on Monday was heartbreaking, said Chris Nealon, who stopped to pray at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York at the end of his shift on a security job. “We are all made in God’s image, and he reinforced that,” said Mr. Nealon, a Navy veteran and a former police officer.

He praised Francis’ calls to end anti-gay sentiments and his push to promote world peace.

John Martinez wept as he sat in solace in one of the wooden pews at St. Patrick’s. He does not agree with all of the church’s teachings, he said, but Francis was “one for the people.”

The timing, for Mr. Martinez and many other Catholics, felt jarring. “We’re all so happy to rejoice in the rising of the Lord, and then for this to happen the very next day is just so alarming,” he said.

Nuns sang and played music during a Mass in New York on Monday. Credit…James Estrin/The New York Times

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