Vatican City
Cnn
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Crowds of mourning people gather in the city of the Vatican and line the streets of Rome on Saturday to give a final sending to Pope Francis, which we will remember as a champion of migrants and poor, and for his efforts to reshape the Catholic church.
His funeral mass takes place on the steps of the Saint-Pierre basilica, one of the most important sites of the Catholic church, with more than 50 world leaders and 11 riding monarchs. They should include US President Donald Trump, Argentinian president Javier Milei, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., head of the largest Catholic nation in Asia.
The Vatican has prepared for more than 250,000 people to flock to the Place de Saint-Pierre and a million more to line the 6-kilometer (3.7 miles) procession route from the Vatican city in Rome to the Di Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, in the hope of seeing the modest of the Pope Pope as he goes to his last rest.
Many more than 1.4 billion Catholics in the world will watch the funeral of the first Latin American pope on television.
Pope Francis died at the age of 88 after having undergone a stroke on Monday of Easter, only one day after its appearing in the same square to offer a blessing to the faithful to the culmination of the Christian calendar.
In the days that followed, around 250,000 people in mourning came their last respect while his body was in the state inside the Saint-Pierre basilica. His coffin was officially sealed on Friday evening in a liturgical rite led by Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell, the church actor.
As The daylight shines from the massive travertine columns of the Saint-Pierre square on Saturday morning, the funeral mass will open with song, sung in Latin: “Eternal rest grants it, O Lord, and lets perpetual light shine on it.”
A reading of the Bible will be given in English, and a “prayer of the faithful” will be offered in several other languages, in particular French, Arab, Portuguese, Polish, German and for the first time, Mandarin, adapted to a Pope who was looking to reach out to followers in all regions of the world.
In accordance with tradition, mass will include homily and communion and will end with a final praise and farewell. Francis approved the agenda on Saturday in June 2024.
But other elements of the day will be carried out, because Francis had sought to “simplify and adapt” the procedures, so that the papal funerals are “those of a pastor and a disciple of Christ, and not of a powerful person in this world”, according to those responsible for the Vatican.
Francis, who chose his name in honor of Saint-François d’Assise, with his commitment to poverty, peace and nature, also wanted to reflect his own dedication to the homeless and disadvantaged in the events of the day.
He believed that “the poor have a privileged place at the heart of God,” said a declaration of Saint-See. “For this reason, a group of poor and needy people will be present on the stages leading to the papal basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore to make their last respect for Pope Francis before the burial of his coffin.”
They will be the last members of the public to see his wooden coffin, after he is slowly drawn into the streets of Rome – the old tourist protruding such as Piazza Venezia and the former Colosseum – in his final procession.
Francis will become the first pope in more than three centuries to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore, the burial taking place in the eyes of the public.
He was a pope of many first – the first Latin American pontiff, the first of the Jesuit order and the first modern pope born outside Europe.
Elected in 2013 as an external candidate of Argentina, Francis continued to inaugurate progressive reforms, in particular the promotion of the roles of women in the church.
But his 12 -year -old leadership was not without criticism. He has taken on important measures to address scandals of sexual abuse of the Catholic Church, but militants and survivors say that there is still a lot to do.
Divisions within the Church on homosexual relations have also persisted throughout its papacy. Asked about his position on sexual orientation, the Pope said: “Who am I to judge?” But also reaffirmed the position of the Church that homosexuality is considered a culprit.
And his file was disparaged by some of the most conservative cardinals and members of the church.
Francis has published a reprimand of the Trump administration’s immigration policy earlier this year and criticized the use of the theology of Vice-President JD Vance to defend his approach. Vance was one of the last people to meet the Pope, during a brief meeting on Easter Sunday.
The next pope will be chosen by the cardinals from around the world in conclave, a closed -door process that could see a battle take place between those who want to continue the progressive path of Pope Francis and those who want to reverse him.
Catholics around the world have different opinions, but many believers gathered in the city of the Vatican this week told CNN that they were proud of the Francis file.
“He has made good changes in the church. I think the church is now more open,” said Laura Grund, Leipzig, Germany, who was among the last people to see the late Pope lying in the state. “He has opened many doors.”
“He was a very simple man, who loved others,” said Sister Luisa, a Munich nun. “We feel very blessed, but also of deep sadness.”
Christopher Lamb de CNN, Antonia Mortensen, Barbie Nadeau, Lauren said that Moorhouse and James Frater contributed to the reports.
