Pope Francis was bid farewell this Saturday with a funeral in St. Peter’s Square where gestures, symbols, and messages that evoked his more than 12 years of pontificate marked by simplicity were glimpsed.
The funeral, faithful to Bergoglio’s style in life, avoided grandiose appellations. The deceased pope was not referred to at any time with traditional titles such as ‘Supreme Pontiff’, but instead terms like “pope,” “shepherd,” or “Episcopus Romae” were used, only in the Latin liturgical parts of the mass.
Chinese
During the universal prayer, one of the languages in which it was spoken was Chinese. Since November of last year, the Vatican included this language in the general audiences of the pope. This is despite the fact that the Holy See has not maintained diplomatic relations with Communist Beijing since 1951. Francis, being a Jesuit, has always been interested in Asia and managed to reach an agreement in 2018 with China to the appointment of bishops, which is still in effect.
His last family
Francis’s coffin was mourned by what was his last ‘family’ in the Vatican: his three secretaries, Juan Cruz Villalon, Manuel Pellizzon, and Fabio Salerno, as well as other assistants and his personal nurse, Massimiliano Strapetti. They all said goodbye by kissing the coffin before it was taken out to the square.
Among the attendees at the funeral was Ms. Carmela, whom the pope greeted from the balcony of Gemelli Hospital in Rome the day he left, on March 23rd.
Tense diplomacy
During his papacy, Francis witnessed a growing tension in global diplomacy, which led him to coin the concept of ‘Third World War in pieces’. His funeral brought together leaders such as the President of the United States, Donald Trump, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the authorities of the European Union.
Near St. Peter’s Square was the creator of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, accompanied by his family.
Trump also previously met with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which was described as positive. The meeting lasted only 15 minutes, but it is known that both presidents agreed to have another meeting.
First millennial saint
The funeral gathered numerous young people who had prepared their trip to Rome for the Jubilee of Adolescents and for the canonization of Carlo Acutis, for whom they displayed banners.
Francis was the one who beatified and approved the sanctification of this young Italian man known as the “apostle of the internet” and as the “first millennial saint,” as he died of leukemia in 2006.
Immigration
Francis was the pope of the peripheries and always defended the welcoming of immigrants. In the homily of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who officiated the funeral, mentioned his first apostolic trip was remembered, to the Italian island of Lampedusa (south), a symbol of this phenomenon in the Mediterranean, or to the border between the US and Mexico.
The icon of the Virgin
One of the images of this solemn farewell was that of the Gospel pages being moved by the wind placed on top of the coffin.
The icon of the Virgin ‘Salus Populi Romani’ was placed on the altar in St. Peter’s Square, to which Francis was very devoted. The basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which houses it, will be where Francis will rest from this very evening.