1 week Ago By Soraya Melguizo
The late Pope Francis received his final farewell this Saturday. , in the center of Rome, where the Argentine pontiff had expressed his wish to be buried because he was deeply devoted to the Virgin Mary. The pontiff's funeral was officiated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, the 91-year-old Italian Giovanni Battista Re, whose position the Pope recently renewed.
As Francis requested, the funeral was marked by simplicity and closeness, faithful to his legacy. A loud applause greeted the appearance of the simple wooden coffin containing the pontiff's remains, which was carried on the shoulders of twelve sediarios, the bearers of the ancient gestatory chairs, to the atrium of Piazza Sant Pere. The coffin was placed in front of the altar as the death bells rang, and an open Gospel book was placed on top of it before the rosary began, which preceded the ceremony.
The first readings of the Mass began just after 10:00 a.m. and were given in English, Latin, and Spanish.
Following this, Gregorian chants were heard again in Sant Pere, accompanied by an organ played by the official Vatican organist, the Catalan Josep Solé. , "who will remain in our eyes and in our hearts": "[Last Sunday] In this majestic Sant Pere Square, despite his health problems, he wanted to give us his blessing and then came down to this square from the popemobile to greet the gathered crowd." "He was a pope with an open heart to everyone.
" The dean of cardinals recalled with powerful emotion how Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was chosen to succeed Pope Benedict XVI and, from the very moment he chose his name, Francis, made clear the style that would define his pontificate. "He established direct contact with people and communities, eager to be close to everyone, with a marked attention to those in need, dedicating himself immeasurably above all to the least of the earth and the marginalized. "Faced with the outbreak of so many wars in recent years, with inhuman horrors and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis has not stopped raising his voice imploring peace and inviting us to common sense and honest negotiation in order to find possible solutions," proclaimed Giovanni Battista Re before the fine subsided.
Words that have a particularly powerful meaning because they were spoken before more than a hundred official delegations and international leaders, among whom was the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in the front row, and a few meters away was his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he met. The Pope, who with 47 apostolic journeys "reached the peripheries of the world," also bid farewell to the least, the most vulnerable, those who did not have a place reserved by strict Vatican protocol among the ranks of the authorities, but who nevertheless came to bid their final farewell to the pontiff; like the three Syrian families the Pope brought aboard his plane during the return trip from the Lesbos refugee camp in 2021. They have since lived in Rome and for whom the Pope never ceased to care.
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