Rome, Italy – On Saturday morning as Pope Francis’ funeral procession broke out in the Vatican City, about 250 000 people in the city of Vatican City sat in a hushed silence.
The city-state’s loudspeakers echoed the church choir. In honor of him, some bowed their heads. In a silent prayer, others clasped their hands.
The pope’s coffin was removed from St. Peter’s Basilica shortly after 10 am (08:00 GMT). The majority of the crowd turned to the large screens scattered around St. Peter’s Square, which were too far away to see.
The gentle sound of a prayer song softened the tense morning into a moment of shared peace, prompting police officers, stewards, and military personnel to finally relax after directing crowds through cordoned-off streets since dawn.
Numerous groups of teenagers who had traveled to Rome as part of the Jubilee of Adolescents, a major Catholic celebration held every 25 years, sat down on the cobblestones of Via della Conciliazione, which leads up the piazza, as the readings began in various languages.
As they sought protection from the warm midday sun, others scurried to the edge of the street.
One voice of prayer and love
Pauline Mille, a French doctoral student who had met her parents early in the morning, described the ceremony as moving and said it was “nice to hear people singing in harmony and spending time together” as they honored the pope’s legacy.
Due to Francis’ passing on Monday, Elie Dib, a Lebanese American, traveled to Rome with his wife and young son.
Dib expressed his sadness at being a part of the prayer and the funeral service today to pray for his soul and was moved by the expressions of “love and prayer” from people of all nationalities.
Antony, the son of the pope, was sitting on his father’s shoulders draped in a Lebanese flag as he expressed his sadness over the pope’s passing.
A group of teenagers from Mexico who were holding hands on each other’s shoulders knelt and raised their heads in the center of the square.
As the ceremony came to an end, elderly people were greeted by Vatican stewards who distributed free water.
Francis’s burial was carried by the popemobile that was traveling from the city-state to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, which is a few kilometers away in the city.
Love messages that “fell a great weight” were still sent.
Tens of thousands of mourners made the roughly one-hour-long walk by foot to the pope’s final resting place as the roughly 50 heads of state, 12 reigning monarchs, and other VIP guests were ushered out of private exits in a section next to St. Peter’s Basilica.
Fiorello Maffei, 58, moved to Italy for the now-deferred canonization of Carlo, a Londoner himself born to Italian parents who passed away from leukaemia at the age of 15. According to Maffei, Francis’s funeral was “very touching” and full of “very meaningful” messages of love.
He claimed that this epitomized Francis, who kept his messages simple when communicating with people. He also expressed his satisfaction that world leaders like Donald Trump had to take note of these messages.
Two Benin priests who were there to mourn the funeral with South African clergy said they were hopeful and appreciative of the legacy Francis has left behind.
They claimed that Francis had preached a message of peace and inclusion and had welcomed immigrants and refugees with an “open heart” as they watched the pope’s coffin being driven through Rome on a large TV screen next to the Tiber’s banks.
Maffei said Francis would have enjoyed seeing Largo Magnanapoli’s uphill section of the city walk through Rome.
It’s challenging to walk like this. He would have desired that his time for reflection and reflection be as it were, Maffei said.
The pope, who visited the Basilica of Saint Mary Major more than 100 times during his 12-year papacy, began to dwindle as no formal ceremony or special occasion was planned for his burial.
The pontiff’s tomb was made accessible to the public on Sunday.
