Pope Francis requested a simple funeral in his will
Pope Francis requested a “simple” funeral in his will, reflecting a legacy devoted to humility.
Hundreds of thousands of the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday to pay homage to Pope Francis on the second of nine days the Vatican has set aside to mourn the beloved pontiff, who was laid to rest a day earlier.
The crowd, estimated by Italian police at 200,000, included many young people, some of whom had planned to visit Rome before the death of Francis on Easter Monday. The Jubilee of Teenagers, scheduled for April 25-27, took place with some modifications and drew tens of thousands from around the world for the events, the Vatican said.
The sainthood ceremony of Carlo Acutis, a scheduled highlight of this Jubilee of Teenagers, was postponed. Acutis was an Italian boy who used his coding skills to spread the faith online. He died from leukaemia in 2006 at age 15.
“Even having to change plans, it is a joy to remember (Francis),” said Samuele Arregetti, an 18-year-old from Bergamo in northern Italy. “We are very sad for his death but now thinking of him we are also happy … that he is in heaven.”
Thousands of people also streamed past Francis’ tomb on Sunday at St. Mary Major Basilica, a 1,600-year-old church and shrine to the Virgin Mary a few miles from the Vatican where the pope, in breaking with tradition, was buried a day earlier.
Some conservative cardinals who believe Pope Francis’ 12-year reign over the church was a disaster that endangered the church’s traditions have begun politicking to sway the conclave electing the next pope, the New York Times reports. Their pitch: unity.
Many of the cardinals are gathering in daily meetings to continue operations of the Vatican and to select a conclave date. Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Germany, a conservative, told the Times he has been making the unity case. Müller, ousted by Francis from a top Vatican position in 2017, said this is “necessary to speak about the division of the church today.”
Cardinal Michael Czerny of Canada, a close adviser to Francis, disagreed.
“If you ask me, ‘How would you name the wrong track for the conclave?’ I would say the idea that unity is the priority,” Czerny said.
At Mass on the second day of the Novemdiales, or nine days of mourning, Cardinal Pietro Parolin invited Christians to look to Jesus Christ’s “infinite mercy for peace in the world and in our hearts,” Vatican News reported.
He recalled the fear and sadness of the apostles after Jesus’ death and said the image represents the Church’s state of mind now as Christians mourn Pope Francis.
“The grief at his departure, the sense of sadness that assails us, the turmoil we feel in our hearts, the sense of bewilderment,” Parolin said, “we are experiencing all of this, like the apostles grieving over the death of Jesus.”
Some members of the College of Cardinals went to Francis’ tomb at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on Sunday to pay homage, the Vatican said. Access to the tomb was open to the public all day Sunday starting at 7 a.m.
The cardinals then gathered there for evening prayer led by the basilica’s coadjutor archpriest, Lithuanian Cardinal Rolanda Makrickas. Some of the same cardinals will take part in the conclave next month at which the next pope will be selected.
More than 30,000 people had filed by the tomb by midday Sunday, the Vatican said. “I feel like it’s exactly in the way of the pope. He was simple, and so is his place now,” Polish pilgrim Maria Brzezinska said after paying her respects.
Francis became the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more a century when he was laid to rest at St. Mary Major. The burial took place Saturday after his casket was transported through the streets of Rome in a modified popemobile following a funeral service that saw more than a quarter million people, including world leaders, converge on St. Peter’s Square.
The pope, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, had requested a “simple” burial “without particular ornamentation.”
The casket was placed in a simple marble tomb in a side aisle of the St. Mary Major basilica. Only his name in Latin, “Franciscus,” is inscribed on top − as the pope instructed − while a reproduction of the plain cross that he used to wear around his neck hangs above the niche.
With the passing of Pope Francis, who presided over the Roman Catholic Church’s estimated 1.4 billion followers for 12 years, attention now turns to the selection of his successor.
The decision is made through a time-honored process known as the conclave, an election conducted in secrecy behind the locked doors of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.
Soon, the College of Cardinals, the church’s most senior members and the acting head of the church until a new pope is selected, will convene to choose the new pontiff. Only those under age 80 are eligible to vote; of the church’s 252 cardinals, 135 will serve as electors, according to the Vatican.
The conclave, customarily held 15-20 days after the pope’s death, is anticipated to start from May 6 to May 11. Read more here.
Contributing: Reuters
