Italian
His last image, which will remain in our eyes and in our hearts, is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite serious health problems, wanted to impart his blessing to us from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and then descended to this square to greet the large crowd gathered for the Easter Mass from the open-top popemobile. This is how Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, described it in a passage of the Homily he delivered this morning on the parvis of the Patriarchal Vatican Basilica, during the Funeral Mass for the deceased Roman Pontiff Francis. The Funeral Liturgy was concelebrated by the Cardinals and the Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches. Over 250,000 people from around the world, including diplomatic representatives, heads of State and government, and religious leaders of various denominations, attended the funeral ceremony in St. Peter’s Square. The solemn celebration was accompanied by the applause of the people, a river of individuals extending all the way to Castel Sant’Angelo, while the pages of the Gospel placed on Francis’ coffin were caressed by the wind.
Peacemaker. “Faced with the escalation of the many wars in recent years, with inhuman horrors and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis has incessantly raised his voice imploring peace and calling for reasonableness, honest negotiation to find possible solutions, because war – he said – is only death of people, 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,” Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re recalled in the Homily.
The Meeting. Historic is the image of seeing the President of the United States Donald Trump and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky sitting, facing each other, in St. Peter’s Basilica. Peace goes through the chair of Peter.
Among the people and with the people. “He was a Pope among the people with an open heart towards everyone. He was also a Pope attentive to the new things emerging in society and to what the Holy Spirit was stirring in the Church.” What characterized Francis’ work was also “his charisma of welcome and listening, combined with a way of behaving that is typical of today’s sensitivity, touched hearts, seeking to awaken moral and spiritual energies.”
Open doors. The primacy of evangelization has guided his Pontificate, spreading, “with a clear missionary imprint, the joy of the Gospel, which was the title of his first Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. A joy that fills with confidence and hope the hearts of all those who trust in God. Also a guiding thread of his mission was the conviction that the Church is a home for everyone; a home with doors always open.”
Mercy. In other parts of the Homily, Cardinal Re also recalled that “Pope Francis has always placed at the center the Gospel of mercy, emphasizing repeatedly that God never tires of forgiving us: He always forgives no matter what the situation of those who ask for forgiveness and return to the right path.” For this reason, “he wanted the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, highlighting that mercy is ‘the heart of the Gospel’.” Mercy and joy of the Gospel are two key words of Pope Francis. And then, “in contrast to what he has called ‘the throwaway culture,’ he spoke of the culture of encounter and solidarity.
Fraternity. The theme of fraternity has run through his entire Pontificate with vibrant tones. In the Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti, he wanted to revive a global aspiration for fraternity, because we are all children of the same Father who is in heaven. He has often strongly emphasized that we all belong to the same human family.
The common house. The intense focus on caring for Creation: “addressing men and women worldwide, with the Encyclical Letter Laudato si’ he drew attention to the duties and shared responsibility towards the common home. ‘No one is saved alone’.” And to achieve all this it is necessary to “Build bridges and not walls”: “an exhortation that he has repeated several times.”
The farewell. At the end of the solemn Eucharistic Celebration, the Last Commendation and the Valediction took place. Cardinal Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, Baldassare Reina, led the supplication of the Church of Rome. Then the Patriarchs, Major Archbishops, and Metropolitans of the Eastern Catholic Metropolitan Churches approached the coffin for the supplication of the Eastern Churches. After that, Cardinal Dean Giovanni Battista Re sprinkled the body of the deceased Pontiff with holy water and incensed it.
The translation. Immediately after the coffin of Holy Father Francis was transferred to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial and entombment. Along the way, two crowds of people turned to bid their emotional farewell to Francis.
Entombment. At 1:00 pm today, the rite of the Entombment of the body of the Roman Pontiff began in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The rite took place according to the prescriptions of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, presided over by Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell, in the presence of those indicated in the relevant Notification of the Office of Liturgical Celebrations and the relatives of the deceased Pope. The rite concluded at 1:30 pm.
Photo of Romano Siciliani’s funeral celebration
Photo Trump-Zelensky, credit Ansa/Sir
Photo of burial, copyright Vatican Media
