{"id":22502,"date":"2025-04-25T15:54:57","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T21:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/about-250000-mourners-pay-last-respects-to-pope-francis\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T21:54:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T21:54:57","slug":"about-250000-mourners-pay-last-respects-to-pope-francis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/about-250000-mourners-pay-last-respects-to-pope-francis\/","title":{"rendered":"About 250,000 mourners pay last respects to Pope Francis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cardinal
Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrel asperges the body of late Pope Francis with holy water before closing his casket in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Friday, April 25, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

VATICAN CITY \u2013 More than 250,000 people paid their last respects to Pope Francis over three days of public viewing by ordinary mourners, church and political leaders that ended Friday, when his coffin was sealed ahead of his state funeral in St. Peter\u2019s Square and burial in a basilica outside the Vatican\u2019s walls.<\/p>\n

World leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei, along with royalty, converged on Rome for the funeral. But the group of marginalized people who will meet his casket in a small crosstown basilica are more in keeping with Francis\u2019 humble persona and disdain for pomp.<\/p>\n

The Vatican said that 164 delegations are confirmed, including 54 heads of state and 12 reigning sovereigns. French President Emmanuel Macron, who will also attend the funeral, was among those who made it in time to pay last respects to the pope.<\/p>\n

\"Cardinal
Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrel, right, asperges the body of late Pope Francis with holy water before closing his casket in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Friday, April 25, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Paying respects<\/div>\n

Tens of thousands of mourners waited hours in line over three days to bid farewell to Francis, who died Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88. A higher-than-expected turnout prompted the Vatican to extend the basilica\u2019s opening hours overnight.<\/p>\n

Angele Bilegue, a nun, was among the last mourners. It was her third time to pay her respects, including once inside the Vatican at his residence in the Santa Marta Domus, where she said she spent six hours praying at his coffin.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was my friend, so I went one last time to say goodbye,\u201d she said. \u201cI cried.\u201d<\/p>\n

A changing of the guards at Francis\u2019 open coffin signaled the end of the viewing period of the pontiff, who was laid out in red robes, a bishop\u2019s pointed miter and a rosary entwined in his hands. He was being buried with his well-worn black shoes, including scuff marks on the toe \u2014 emblematic of the simple life he espoused.<\/p>\n

Cardinal Kevin Farrell presided over the closing and sealing of the coffin in his role of camerlengo, or interim Vatican administrator. According to photos released by the Vatican, a white cloth was placed over the pope\u2019s face, and a bag containing coins minted during his papacy was put in the coffin along with a one-page written account of his papacy.<\/p>\n

The account, called a rogito, summarized his whole life\u2019s story, from his childhood in Argentina as the son of parents with Italian heritage through his priesthood and promotions eventually to archbishop and cardinal in Buenos Aires \u2014 and then pope. It highlighted his \u201cdefense of innocents,\u201d his encyclicals and also his illnesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a simple and much loved pastor in his archdiocese, who traveled far and wide, also by subway and bus,\u201d read the text of the document, recounting his life as archbishop. \u201cHe lived in an apartment and he prepared dinner alone, so he could feel like an ordinary person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People
People attend a rosary prayer outside the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, where the late Pope Francis will be buried, in Rome, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo\/Andreea Alexandru)<\/span>Andreea Alexandru<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
\u2018We will see each other again\u2019<\/div>\n

Roman neighbors and retired flight attendants Aurelia Ballarini and Francesca Codato came to pay respects to Francis on Friday with very different motivations. Ballarini, 72, was coming to terms with her grief, and Codato, 78, was seeking forgiveness.<\/p>\n

For Ballarini, the pope\u2019s death leaves a hole in her life. While only 16 years younger than Francis, she considered him a grandfather figure. Every morning, she would log on to Facebook for his daily greeting, and respond \u201cwith a couple of words.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave everything, gave all of himself, up to the end,\u201d said Ballarini. \u201cI spent the last two days crying. I was not well after his passing \u2014 I can\u2019t even say the word. For me he flew away. One day, we will see each other again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Codato said that she feels tremendous guilt toward Francis, having forsaken him out of devotion to one of his predecessors, St. John Paul II. When Francis became pope \u201che was an outsider to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel guilty, because through videos I have seen in these days, I have understood he was a man of enormous humanity, close to the simple people,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I came to ask forgiveness, because I feel guilty toward him, like a worm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People
People wait in line under the rain to enter St. Peter's Basilica to view Pope Francis lying in state, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo\/Francisco Seco)<\/span>Francisco Seco<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Cardinals \u2018are in discussions\u2019<\/div>\n

The work of the conclave to choose a new pope won\u2019t start until at least May 5, after nine days of public mourning.<\/p>\n

Cardinals have been arriving in Rome, with 149 meeting on Friday morning to discuss church business. They won\u2019t meet again until next week, meaning a conclave date is unlikely to be set until after the funeral.<\/p>\n

Cardinal Fran\u00e7ois-Xavier Bustillo, who hosted Francis during his last papal trip to Corsica last year, remembered Francis as \u201ca free man\u201d who \u201chumanized the church without desacralizing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described the atmosphere inside the meetings as \u201cgood,\u201d but said that they weren\u2019t yet \u201cat the point of decisions; we are in discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cardinal
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, center, leads a prayer for Pope Francis, at the St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo\/Francisco Seco)<\/span>Francisco Seco<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Papal burial<\/div>\n

In keeping with Francis\u2019 embrace of the marginalized, the Vatican said a group of poor and needy people will meet the pope\u2019s coffin to pay homage to him when it arrives at St. Mary Major Basilica for burial on Saturday. It has already become a point of pilgrimage.<\/p>\n

The tomb is being prepared behind a wooden barrier within the basilica that he chose to be near an icon of the Madonna that he revered and often prayed before. The burial will take place in private, the Vatican said.<\/p>\n

Photos released by the Vatican on Friday show the marble tombstone flat against the pavement, with the simple engraving in Latin that he requested in his last testament: \u201cFranciscus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cardinals will visit the St. Mary Major Basilica on Sunday. Entering through the Holy Door, they will visit the Salus Populi Romani icon, which was dear to Francis, and celebrate evening prayers, the Vatican said.<\/p>\n

\"Nuns
Nuns walk away from St. Peter's Basilica where Pope Francis is lying in state, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo\/Francisco Seco)<\/span>Francisco Seco<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Security measures<\/div>\n

Italy is deploying more than 2,500 police officers and 1,500 soldiers to provide security during the funeral, which is expected to gather about 200,000 mourners in St. Peter\u2019s Square and up to 300,000 people along the 4-kilometer (2\u00bd-mile) route from the Vatican to the pope\u2019s burial place across Rome.<\/p>\n

The major security operation includes stationing an armed naval vessel off the coast, and putting squads of fighter jets on standby, Italian media reported.<\/p>\n

Royals and leaders<\/div>\n

Trump, who is traveling with first lady Melania Trump, was scheduled to arrive Friday, after Francis\u2019 coffin has been sealed.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy\u2019s press office previously confirmed his presence, but he told reporters Friday evening on the site of a recent missile attack that he will attend if time permits, given obligations at home related to the ongoing war.<\/p>\n

Among the other foreign dignitaries confirmed for the papal funeral are U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Prince William, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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