Pope Francis Is Moved to St Peters's Basilica

he coffin holding Pope Francis, inside St. Peter’s Basilica, surrounded by people in religious dress. Francis’ body will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica before the pope’s funeral on Saturday.Credit...Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times

 

Emma Bubola

By Emma Bubola

Reporting from Vatican City

The New York Times

Latin chants sounded across the Vatican as a long procession of red-hatted cardinals, bishops in violet capes and Swiss Guards in striped uniforms accompanied Francis’ body from his residency to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday.

Death knells tolled and thousands of people lined up for hours in the Vatican to see the pontiff, who died on Monday morning at 88.

“This pope was special and I wanted to say goodbye,” said Natalia Zoni, 51, who left her home in Tuscany at dawn to travel to Rome. Tears welled in her eyes in front of the pope’s coffin, and she said, “Thank you,” to Francis, who laid in front of Bernini’s giant bronze canopy.

The pope wore his simple black leather shoes — which had become a hallmark of his unpretentious style — as he lay beneath the golden vault of the basilica. 

The crowds, pressed tightly together, flowed past Michelangelo’s Pietà, and then thronged in front of Francis’ simple wooden casket. Some crossed themselves, most held up their smartphones to take a picture of the pope. Reporters trying to get a better view were scolded for standing on an ornate marble balustrade that bounded the press area. 

Francis’ body — dressed in papal vestments, a white bishop’s miter on his head — will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica for several days to allow the faithful to bid farewell. On Wednesday, the Vatican said that the basilica might stay open after midnight because of the high turnout.

The pope’s coffin will be closed on Friday night, and the funeral will take place on Saturday, with international leaders among those expected to attend.

Many of the mourners who flanked the Vatican’s walls under the warm Roman sun on Wednesday said that they wanted to pay their respects to a pope whom they felt personally close to. 

Enrico Molinari, 84, dressed in a suit for the occasion, took an early train from his home outside Rome, then a bus, to say goodbye to Francis.

“We know his soul is no longer here,” Mr. Molinari said. “But I want to pay tribute to his person.”

Giuseppina Bencini was attending on her 88th birthday. “I felt a lump in my throat when I saw him,” she said as her eyes grew cloudy.

Nadia Panno, 60, who had driven about 70 miles and stood in a long line holding her crutches, said, “It was the least I could do to come here and say thank you.”

Lorenzo Fontana, a conservative politician who is president of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament, knelt by Francis’ coffin and crossed himself.

A crowd surrounds a coffin lined with red material containing the pope.

Crowds watched and clapped as the pope’s coffin was carried through St. Peter’s Square.Credit...James Hill for The New York Times 

Others had traveled thousands of miles, a testament to the pope’s outreach to faraway places. Among them were Delta Canela and Marian Manalo, both 63 and from the Philippines. 

 

“The Philippines were very close to his heart,” Ms. Canela said. Ms. Manalo, her friend, agreed.

“With Pope Francis,” she said, “we always felt loved.”