While heads of state and royalty were present at the ceremony in St Peter’s Square today, inmates and migrants received him at the basilica in another part of town where he will be laid to rest.
Approximately 250,000 individuals attended the service, held on a beautiful spring day which was meant to be a special Holy Year event for young people.
Crowds waited hours to bid farewell to Francis
During the course of three days this week, more than 250,000 people queued for hours to bid farewell while Francis’ body was on display in St Peter’s Basilica.
The Vatican kept the basilica open through the night to accommodate them, but it wasn’t enough. When the doors closed to the general public at 7pm yesterday (3am today AEST), mourners were turned away in droves.
By dawn Saturday, they were back and ready to say a final farewell, some recalling the words he uttered the very first night of his election and throughout his papacy.
“We are here to honour him because he always said ‘don’t forget to pray for me,'” said Sister Christiana Neenwata from Biafrana, Nigeria.
“So we are also here to give to him this love that he gave to us.”
