Pope Francis’ funeral: Moving scenes at Vatican City as late Pope’s hope for simple resting place honoured

Pope Francis has been laid to rest in a wooden coffin, in a simple tomb in the church, near Rome’s main train station, where he frequently prayed.

For all his planning for his funeral to be as simple as possible and true to how he lived, his Requiem Mass in the Vatican City appeared a stunning spectacle against the historic backdrop of the Eternal City, bathed in glorious spring sunshine.

World leaders and royalty sat shoulder-to-shoulder to the side of an altar in St Peter’s Square to witness the solemn celebration of the life and work of one of the most loved and reformist religious leaders.

For once the presidents and princes were in the shade, with the funeral centering on Pope Francis’ advocacy and concern for the poor and the “most peripheral of the peripheries” in the world.

Fittingly, prisoners and migrants welcomed him at the basilica where he was buried, following the Mass, where some 250,000 people filled St Peter’’s Square and its approaches.

Australia was represented at the funeral by Governor-General Sam Mostyn. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a Catholic, issued a statement, honouring the 266th Pontiff.

“Today the prayers of the faithful go with the Holy Father to his final rest,” he said.

“Pope Francis’ compassion embraced all humanity. His loss has been mourned all around the world, just as his life has been celebrated.

“While today’s funeral in Vatican City will be attended by leaders of church and state alike, we will remember Pope Francis as someone who dedicated his life, work and papacy to the poor and the powerless above all.

“Even as we say our final farewells, we take comfort in knowing that the many legacies of his life’s work will always be around us.

“May this man of peace be granted everlasting peace. And may God welcome Pope Francis to eternal life.”

Pope Francis became the first Pope since 1903 to be buried outside the Vatican. He chose the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), to which he had a special devotion. He had visited the basilica at the beginning and end of each of his apostolic trips.

Santa Maria Maggiore was the first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary when it was built in the 4th Century.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including many pilgrims, lined the 4km motorcade route through the city that brought his coffin there on his open-topped popemobile from the Vatican after the mass.

His plain coffin was greeted at the basilica by forty special guests, organised by the Vatican’s Caritas charity and the Sant’Egidio community, honouring the marginalised groups Pope Francis prioritised as pope: homeless people and migrants, prisoners and transgender people.

“The poor have a privileged place in the heart of God,” the Vatican quoted Francis as saying in explaining the choice.

In the homily, Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, summarised Francis’ humility and his inclusive approach to his holy mission as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, which lasted 12 years until his death on Monday, aged 88.

“The outpouring of affection that we have witnessed in recent days following his passing from this earth into eternity tells us how much the profound pontificate of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts,” he said, flanked by red-robed cardinals who will soon choose his successor.

“He was a pope among the people, with an open heart toward everyone,” Cardinal Re said beside Francis’ coffin from the steps of St. Peter’s Square.

“He was also a pope attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the church.”

“The guiding thread of his mission was also the conviction that the church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open,” Cardinal Re said.

He said that Francis had spread the faith with a sense of joy, a “great spontaneity and an informal way of addressing everyone,” and a spirit of “welcome and listening.”

But Francis also “truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time of globalisation.”

With President Trump seated closeby, Cardinal Re recounted Francis’ constant concern for migrants, including when he celebrated Mass at the United States-Mexico border and spoke of the need to “build bridges, not walls.”

He also recalled when the Pontiff travelled to a refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece, and brought 12 migrants home with him.

Against the backdrop of geopolitical turmoil and war, Cardinal Re re-iterated Pope Francis incessant plea for peace.

“War, he said, results in the death of people and the destruction of homes, hospitals and schools. War always leaves the world worse than it was before: it is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone,” he said, quoting the Pope.

He said the Pope’s decision to take the name Francis, after Saint Francis of Assisi, who was dedicated to caring for the poor, “immediately appeared to indicate the pastoral plan and style on which he wanted to base his pontificate.”

Pope Francis had choreographed the funeral himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s rites and rituals last year. His aim was to emphasize the pope’s role as a mere pastor and not “a powerful man of this world.”

Nonetheless, with its pageantry, colour and Gregorian chants, it was a majestic send-off.

Giant television screens were set up along the streets of the Italian capital for those who couldn’t get close.

Police helicopters whirled overhead, part of the massive security operation Italian authorities mounted, including more than 2,500 police, 1,500 soldiers and a torpedo ship off the coast, Italian media reported.