World gives final farewell to beloved Pope Francis at funeral – upi.com

Francis died on Monday morning, one day after Easter when he joined faithful at St. Peter’s Square.
After lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for three days, the simple coffin was moved out into the piazza on a warm and clear day. There was applause as it was shown outside on a Jumbotron.

The service
The bells at St. Peter’s Basilica tolled as congregation members took their seats for the two-hour funeral service outside at St. Peter’s Square, which started at 10 a.m. local time.

Delegations from 164 nations attended the funeral. Leaders included U.S. President Donald Trump, former U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Prince William, French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Placed on top of Pope Francis‘ closed coffin was an open Book of the Gospels. The service included several prayers. Most music was sung in plainchant, which is lines of music chanted by priests and the choir.
Priests and other celebrants distributed Holy Communion, which is bread and wine, among the cardinals. The choir sang psalm 129 in Latin. In English, it is „out of the depths I cry to you O Lord; Lord year my voice!“
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, officiated, leading the Eucharistic Prayer, offering the faithful to the service of God, before reading his sermon on the footsteps of the basilica.
He described Francis as a „pope among the people“ and praised his ability to lead with „an open heart towards everyone.“

„Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time of globalization“ Re said. „His gestures and exhortations in favor of refugees and displaced persons are countless. His insistence on working on behalf of the poor was constant.“
He noted Francis‘ first journey as pope was to Lampedusa, an Italian island in the Mediterranean, which is the first port of call for people crossing from north Africa.
Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, advocated for people in war-torn communities, including Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and South Sudan.
„Faced with the raging wars of recent years, with their inhuman horrors and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis incessantly raised his voice imploring peace and calling for reason and inviting honest negotiation to find possible solutions. War, he said, results in the death of people and the destruction of homes, hospitals and schools. War always leaves the world worse than it was before: it is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone,“ Re said.
He made 47 Apostolic journeys, including to war-torn Iraq and the Asia-Oceanic region, Vatican News said.
Re prayed for Francis, he said, as Francis used to pray for others.

„Pope Francis used to conclude his speeches and meetings by saying ‚do not forget to pray for me.‘ Dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us. May you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this basilica in a final embrace with all the people of God, but also embrace humanity that seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds high the torch of hope.“
Near the end of the homily he said: „Build bridges, not walls‘ was an exhortation repeated many times, and his service of faith as Successor of the Apostle Peter always was linked to the service of humanity in all its dimensions.“
The processional
Some congregants cheered at the end of the service as the coffin was carried back into St. Peter’s Basilica.
The coffin then was taken in the white popemobile over the River Tube to Rome’s Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. The procession went past ancient ruins of Rome, and the monument of the fallen soldiers in Piazza Venezia.
Roughly 150,000 people watched and mourned along the 3.7-mile procession route.
Mexican seminarian Rodrigo Herrera cried as he watched the coffin pass.

„I just saw him last week, giving his last effort, his last pool, just giving it all for the church,“ Herrera, who studied un Francis, told NBC News. „Now, I’ve got to say goodbye to his coffin. It’s a moment to say goodbye,“ added Herrera, who began studying under Francis.
Pallbearers lifted Francis‘ coffin into the basilica. Francis was privately interred in the gold basilica at the highest point of the Italian capital. Vatican News said rests between the Sforza Chapel and the Pauline Chapel, which houses the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani.
The ceremony there began at 1 p.m. local time and ended 30 minutes later.
It was inscribed with the word: „Franciscus.“ His name was chosen in honor of St. Francis of Assisi.
Final resting place
Working poor were included at Santa Maria Maggiore.
„For this reason, a group of poor and needy people will be present on the steps leading to the papal Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore to pay their last respects to Pope Francis before the burial of his coffin,“ according to a Holy See statement.
He was the first pope to be buried outside of the Vatican in more than a century, according to officials. Francis chose the site because he prayed there often, in addition to being a place he frequented during the worst of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

There were three separate stages after his death: Preparation of the body, the viewing of the body and then the burial. This past week, tens of thousands of people paid their respects to Francis.
What’s next
Nine days of official mourning began immediately at the conclusion of the funeral mass. Then, the College of Cardinals, made up of 252 representatives from countries around the world, will gather to launch the secret process to elect a new pope.
Francis appointed about four-fifths of the cardinals who will choose the next pope since his election on March 13, 2013.