Nun whose emotional farewell to Pope Francis was seen around the world returns to say one last goodbye hours before the pontiff's coffin is sealed

Daily Mail​

25-04-2025

The nun who was allowed to break protocol to say goodbye to her close friend Pope Francis returned on Friday for a final farewell hours before his coffin is sealed.
French-Argentine nun Sister Genevieve Jeanningros was allowed into a restricted area on the first day of the pontiff's lying-in-state to pray before the coffin.
The area is traditionally reserved for cardinals, bishops, and priests, but the 81-year-old was allowed in to grieve their friendship, which lasted more than four decades.
The moving images circulated widely on social media as she joined more than 150,000 mourners in paying their respects beside the open casket.
Jeanningros was seen again on Friday at St Peter's Square, and visiting the Basilica of St Peter to pay her respects once more before the funeral on Saturday.
The nun, of the order of the Little Sisters of Jesus, was joined by others as they made the difficult journey to see the pontiff, who died only on Monday, aged 88.
The Pope had personally visited Jeanningros, whom he playfully referred to l'enfant terrible (the terrible child), in July in Ostia to acknowledge her humanitarian work.
French-Argentine nun, Sister Genevieve Jeanningros, was seen in footage from the first day of Francis' lying-in-state approaching a restricted area to pray before the coffin of the late Pontiff
Some 150,000 people have passed by Francis's coffin as he lay in state over the past three days in St Peter's Basilica.
But the queue for the basilica will close to the public at 6pm local time, with viewings expected to end at 7pm.
That time has been pushed back already, remaining open through the night on Thursday to allow more people to pay their respects.
Criticism has landed on some mourners taking selfies in front of the open casket, with the Vatican 'inviting' people 'not to take photos'.
But it was the appearance of Genevieve Jeanningros on Thursday that most moved onlookers around the world.
Jeanningros was seen stepping toward a red rope surrounding the coffin with the assistance of an official, who guided her forward.
Dressed in a blue headscarf and navy attire, she stood quietly to one side of the open casket.
She then burst into tears and brought her hands to her face, feet away from the late Pope.
Taking a tissue, she wiped her eyes and remained in place for a moment.
Despite breaking what is traditionally regarded as protocol, no security official intervened, allowing Francis' close friend an intimate moment of farewell.
Their July meeting in Ostia, held at Luna Park fairground, publicly highlighted the Pope's respect and adoration for the nun who has dedicated her time to helping those facing marginalisation and social exclusion.
The nun has dedicated more than 56 years to serving the most disadvantaged people, especially transgender women, in the region.
She reportedly lives in a caravan with another nun, Anna Amelia Giacchetto.
The relationship between Jeanningros and Francis began when he was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Their connection was strengthened by their shared commitment to the most vulnerable and by the wounds of the Argentine dictatorship.
Every Wednesday, the nun brought groups of fairground workers, homeless people, and transgender women to the Vatican's general audiences. Francis not only received them but also invited them to lunch and offered financial support.
Tens of thousands of mourners again filed into St. Peter's Basilica on Friday on the last day to pay final respects to Pope Francis ahead of his funeral on Saturday.
Long queues snaked around St. Peter's Square and the surrounding roads, before being funnelled through the heart of the basilica in a single column leading to the central altar, where Francis' open-topped coffin was displayed on a dais.
The body of the 88-year-old pope, who died on Monday in his rooms at the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse after suffering a stroke, was brought to St. Peter's in a solemn procession on Wednesday.
Since then, about 150,000 people from all over the world have bid farewell to the pontiff, the Vatican said.
'It's a very strong feeling (to be here),' said Patricio Castriota, a visitor who, like the pope, is from Argentina. 'This farewell was very sad, but I thank God that I was able to see him'.
'He's the only pope we've had who came from South America, a pope who had many good intentions for the Catholic Church,' Castriota told Reuters. 'He cleaned up (a lot) of the bad, maybe not all of it, but he tried.'
Francis, who was pope since 2013, was the first pontiff from the Western hemisphere and was known for an unusually charming, and even humorous, demeanour.
His 12-year papacy was sometimes turbulent, with Francis seeking to overhaul a divided institution but battling with traditionalists who opposed his many changes.
'He humanised the church, without desacralising it,' said Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, who leads the Church on the French island of Corsica.
Queues on Friday morning were stretching halfway down the main boulevard leading through Rome into the Vatican.
People were pressing forward slowly, some waiting hours, in order to have a few minutes inside to pay their respects to Francis.