From nuns in black-and-white habits to suited dignitaries and abnormal faithful in baseball caps, a mess gathered in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday.
Some applauded, some wept, holding his picture or a rosary, some – inevitably – popped out their smartphones as Francis ’ easy picket coffin was carried by 14 men in grey morning suits.
About a quarter-million people had paid their respects to the pontiff as he lay in state from Wednesday to Friday evening in St. Peter’s Basilica. On Saturday, crowds filled the colonnaded square in front of it for the funeral Mass.
Row upon row of the worldwide Catholic Church’s clergy gathered, from diocesan and spiritual orders priests to bishops and cardinals of their good red and scarlet robes and caps. That included the “porporato” — what Italians call the cardinals due to their purple-hued vestments. In just a few days, greater than 130 of them will gather in a conclave to elect the subsequent pope, almost definitely one among their very own.
After the liturgy, Francis’ coffin was taken on the open back of a white vehicle to his burial place, St. Mary Major’s Basilica, some 3 miles (5 kilometers) away in Rome.
As it passed the Colosseum, the traditional Roman amphitheater that’s one among Italy’s most iconic sites, tourists and faithful lined the path to snap photos of this final “popemobile” moment – eerily harking back to Francis’ last surprise romp through the crowds after last Sunday’s Easter Mass.
The pontiff died Monday at age 88.
___
This is a photograph gallery curated by AP photo editors.
