"He is like part of the family," said Araceli Gutiérrez, who treasures the time she saw the pope during his trip to the country of nearly 100 million Catholics in 2016. "That's why we feel so concerned for him."
María Teresa Sánchez, who was visiting from Colombia with her sister, said that she has always felt close to Francis — the first Latin American pope.
"That's like having a relative within the higher-ups, with God," she said. "He has done so much for religion; he's such a humble person."