ROME, Italy – About 250,000 mourners in Vatican city fell into quiet silence on Saturday morning when Pope Francis’ funeral began.
The church choir echoed through city-state speakers. Some bowed their heads with respect. Others clasped their hands in quiet prayer.
Shortly after 10am (08:00 GMT), the Pope’s co was taken out of St. Peter’s Cathedral. Most of the crowd were so far away that they could not get a glimpse, they turned to the large screens dotted around St. Peter’s Square.
The gentle sounds of prayer songs eased the tense morning and softened into a moment of peace that was shared, so that the police officers, stewards and military personnel who had overseen the crowd since dawn finally relaxed.
When measurements began in several languages, several groups of teenagers who came to Rome as part of the youth jubilee were sitting in a mass of Della Conciliazione that led to Pierja, a major Catholic event held every 25 years, a three-day event during the jubilee, a major Catholic event held every 25 years.
Others moved towards the street area as they wanted shade from the warm daytime sun.
A voice of love and prayer
Pauline Mille, a French doctoral student who arrived early with her parents, said it was a moving ceremony, “hearing them sing in harmony and spending time together, and celebrating the Pope’s legacy.
Lebanese-American Ellie Dib traveled to Rome with his wife and young son to attend Carlo Acotis’ canonize.
Dib told Al Jazeera “I am blessed with being part of today’s prayer and funeral,” and was impressed to see people of many different nationalities speak “in one voice of love and prayer.”
His son, Anthony, sat on his father’s shoulder, covered in Lebanon’s flag, and although he was sad, the Pope died, he said, “I am still happy that he will go to heaven.”
In the center of the square, a group of Mexican-born teenagers kneeled down with their hands on each other’s shoulders.
As the ceremony approached the end, the crowd was removed from the Vatican as the stewards handed out free water to the elderly.
The Popemovie, carrying the co-Francis, traveled from the city-state through the city of Rome, past many of the famous landmarks such as the Colosseum, and to the Cathedral of St. Mary Major, a few kilometres away.
A message of love that still has “a great weight”
About 50 heads of state, the 12 monarchs and other VIP guests, sitting in the section next to St. Peter’s Cathedral, were guided through a series of private exits in the Autolicade, and tens of thousands of mourners began their approximately an hour-long journey to Pope’s final resting place.
Fiorello Mafay, 58, who lives in London, returned to Italy for the postponed canoeing of the Londoner himself, born to Italian parents who died of leukemia at the age of 15.
He said this typical Francis didn’t overly complicate his message while communicating with people, adding that he was pleased that world leaders such as President Donald Trump had to hear these messages of peace.
Two priests from Benin who attended the funeral with the South African clergy said they felt sad during the service but were full of hope and grateful for the legacy Francis left behind.
They saw the Pope’s co-passing through Rome on a large television screen located near the banks of Tiber, and said Francis preached the message of peace and inclusion, and welcomed immigrants and refugees with an open heart.
Mafay said he believes Francis is enjoying working on the uphill stretches of Largo Magananapoli when he sees people walking through Rome.
“It’s difficult to walk like this. It’s a time of reflection and meditation. That’s what he wanted,” Mafay said.
At the Cathedral of Major St. Mary, a church beloved by the Pope, and at the church that visited it more than 100 times over the course of his 12 years of Pope, the crowd began to fade as no public ceremonies or special events had been organized for his burial.
On Sunday, the tombs of the clergy were opened to the public.
The simple white resting place, engraved with the mere name of Franciscus, his name in Latin, reflects Francis’s request for his will to be buried “on the ground without any particular decoration.”
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