“It was like a family”: Believers descend in St. Peter’s square for the funeral of the Pope

Some mourners spent the night sleeping in the streets near the Vatican, and began lining up at dawn on Saturday in Saint Peter Square to bid farewell to Pope Francis. Hours later, world leaders took their seats in ranks near a altar prepared in front of St. Peter’s Church.

The scene was suitable for the funeral of the head of state, as the croup with red, residents, and prominent messages attending the outdoor mass. But for the Pope, who spent more than a decade defending people on the margins of society, many also came to pay their respect for a person who occupied a deep personal space in their lives.

“More than the Pope, he was a patriarchal figure for us, immigrants,” said Virginia Monus Ramirez, 30, born in El Salvador. “He represented the Latinists and the immigrants – it was all reference for us.”

Some mourners wore suits, while others of the Blue and White Football shirts for the original Argentina in Francis. Others still wear traditional Polish clothes or colored clothes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Many stormed a high applause when the Cardinal Giovanni Batista, who was carrying the Mass, recalled that the first trip of the Pope was to Lambidosa, an Italian island that became symbolic for large numbers of immigrants arriving in Europe during the past decade.

The Cardinal said that “Pope Francis” was giving himself without measure, especially for the marginalized, “and he stands at the sight of a giant statue of Saint Peter, the first Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

With the screams of gulls in the sky of the head and helicopters that rise in the sky, the crowd was largely silent as readings were in Latin, Italian and other esteemed languages ​​in the box.

Despite all her father and party, the crowd experience also had something of stadium parties. The mass occurred on the stage to the point that the numbers seemed small. What made her feel giant screens and an echo amplifier system.

In one moment, the cameras focused on small details of the coffin of the Pope, making the braid of this occasion look very real. Elsewhere, they showed President Volodimir Zellinski from Ukraine walking to his seat, which prompted a seizure of applause from the crowd.

But no one was present needed to display a video to capture the bone of the ocean. It is bordered by the square, which was classified around the Vatican obelisk, with huge basins covered with sculptures that stand in a silhouette against the sky.

Among the mourners was Catholics from the places that Francis had explained. Many, like a retired owner of the grocery story in the northern Italian city of Genoa, said they felt that Francis was a “ordinary person”, like them. “The world I loved here today to say thank you,” read one banner.

Francesca Potos, a nun from Egypt, ran to the scene to secure a place. She had prayed that Pope Francis, who suffered from knee diseases, would relieve her legs from pain and allow her to reach St. Peter at the appropriate time for the funeral. I did so, although another nun met with her ankle on the subway.

“We are here from west to east,” said Epiphana Lubangula, 53, a Tanzania citizen who works as a nurse in Italy. She said that she hopes that “the powerful people here will be cherished with the message of Francis.”

A priest of Myanmar, the priest Caesar HToo Ko Ko, said that since the Pope’s visit for the year 2017 to the country, people have finally “have a picture of the Catholic WhatsApp.”

While the attention of the media turned into a meeting between Mr. Zellinski and President Trump in Basilica before the funeral, many mourners were mostly focused on saying the Pope’s farewell.

“It was like a family,” said Colette Sandgon, 68, a citizen of Cameroon who traveled from Paris and spent the night in a Vatican street in the Vatican city to secure a place in the funeral of the Pope.

“When he spoke to me, it seems as if he was talking to the entire Africa,” she added, her eyes are a fight on the night that does not sleep.

Near the end of the ceremony, he was approaching the middle of the day, and the spring heat was negatively affecting those who had been standing since before dawn. Hundreds sat for the sermon, while others tried to like the funeral program booklet.

With the Pope’s place to rest, many Catholics began to search for the front. Some questioned those who defend what has no voice now after their hero disappeared with the highest voice. Others said they hope that the era of Francis will emphasize charitable work and pastoral work on the church’s doctrine.

Reverend Joseph Jarros, of the Czech Republic, said that he agreed with Francis that the church needed change, but resonated by criticism often heard among conservatives, and said that he should be in line with the traditions. “The world changes a lot, but the church should not change much,” he said.

Mrs. Monus Ramirez, immigrant from El Salvador, said she was more worried about the Pope’s message. “As immigrants, we are concerned,” she said. “We hope we get another defender.”

After the mass ended, the Cardinate descended in a red chain and took over the crowd. The square has been cleared outside of Basilica. A strange silence remained.

Jason Horwatz The reports contributed.