Thousands honor Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica
Thousands of people poured into St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, whose body is lying in state for three days ahead of his funeral on Saturday.
Crowds stretched down the main boulevard leading through Rome into the Vatican, pressing forward slowly in warm spring sunshine as people took their turn to see the late pontiff in his open coffin.
The body of the 88-year-old pope, who died two days ago in his rooms at the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse after suffering a stroke, was brought to St. Peter's in a solemn procession earlier on Wednesday.
Red-hatted cardinals, bishops, candle-carrying friars and helmeted Swiss Guards walked slowly into the vast square in front of the basilica as a choir chanted psalms and prayers in Latin while a bell gently tolled.
As the coffin crossed St. Peter's Square, a crowd of several thousand broke into repeated applause — a traditional Italian sign of respect at such events.
Priests attend a mass in honor of the late Pope Francis at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Montevideo on Wednesday. |
AFP-JIJI
"He's like a member of the family. Somebody very close to our hearts, somebody who made the Church very accessible to everybody and inclusive to everybody," said Rachel McKay, a pilgrim from Britain.
Vatican officials helped 14 white-gloved, black-suited pallbearers carry the coffin up a stone incline, before the procession passed through St. Peter's giant bronze doors and into the hushed interior of the ornate, cavernous church.
Francis, who had only recently left hospital after five weeks of treatment for double pneumonia, last appeared in public on Sunday, when he delighted onlookers gathered to celebrate Easter by being driven around the packed square in his white, open-topped popemobile.
Mixture of emotions
As the formal ceremony to bring the pope's body to the basilica was ending, Sr. Genevieve Jeanningros, a nun from the Roman seaside town of Ostia, stood by his casket and cried.
Jeanningros, known for her work with the LGBTQ community, had hosted Francis for visits in Ostia several times.
Crowds were guided through the central nave of the basilica to come forward and offer respects.
Francis was dressed in red vestments, his hands clasped together holding a rosary, and a white miter on his head.
A woman reacts at the St. Peter's Square, on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' body and its transfer to Saint Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, on Wednesday. |
REUTERS
Alex Lenrtz, a U.S. pilgrim who was among the first public mourners to stand in line, said he felt a mixture of emotions.
"It's just such a surreal (feeling)... and seeing the body and just remembering everything that he stood for is very important."
Francis' body will lie in state in St. Peter's Basilica until Friday evening. The Vatican had originally planned to close Wednesday's visits at midnight, but said it may extend the timeframe, due to a "high flow" of pilgrims.
In the first 8.5 hours of viewing, some 19,430 people filed in front of the coffin, with thousands more waiting patiently in a line that snaked around the security barriers across the cobbled esplanade outside the church.
Saturday's funeral will draw heads of state and government from around the world, including U.S. President Donald Trump, who clashed repeatedly with the pope on social issues such as immigration.
Leaders from Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Ukraine, Brazil, EU institutions and Francis' home nation of Argentina have also confirmed their presence, among many others.
Future conclave
A conclave to choose the new pope is not expected to start before May 6. The cardinals now gathering in Rome will decide the date following what are often prolonged discussions.
There is no clear frontrunner to succeed Francis, although British bookmakers have singled out Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines, and Pietro Parolin, from Italy, as early favorites.
During the ceremony earlier on Wednesday, Tagle and Parolin stood together in the basilica, flanked by about 80 other cardinals, as the wooden coffin was laid on a dais.
A faithful woman holds a portrait of the late Pope Francis during a mass at the Catedral Primada church in Bogota on Wednesday. |
AFP-JIJI
The body was placed in front of the altar, built on the spot where St. Peter, the first pope, is believed to have been buried after dying as a martyr in the reign of Emperor Nero (54-68 AD).
Cardinal Raymond Burke, a U.S.-born conservative prelate who was often at odds with Francis during his 12-year papacy, was among those who approached the coffin and bowed.
Another reformer?
Francis shunned much of the great pomp and ceremony traditionally associated with the role of head of the world's 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. He clashed repeatedly with traditionalists, who saw him as overly liberal and too accommodating to minority groups, such as the LGBTQ community.
In electing a new pope, cardinals will have to consider whether to complete Francis' promised reform of the Church, making more room for women in senior positions and being more amenable to an evolving society, or opt for retrenchment.
Some 135 cardinals are eligible to participate in the secretive conclave, which can stretch over days before white smoke pouring from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel tells the world that a new pope has been picked.
A woman looks on as people attend the Rosary for Pope Francis outside the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on Wednesday |
REUTERS
Speculation is already rife on who should succeed Francis, who was from Argentina and was the first non-European pope in 1,300 years.
Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius suggested his fellow electors should again look beyond Europe, where Catholic congregations have been dwindling for years.
"I believe it would be very natural to choose someone from Africa, Asia, or in any case from those parts of the world where the Church is, in some way, more alive, more dynamic, and with more of a future," Corriere della Sera newspaper quoted him as saying.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
8 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
The Last-ditch Race to Save the Orinoco Crocodile
Reuters An Orinoco crocodile is seen at the Masaguaral Ranch, a captive breeding center near Tamarindito. Photos were taken in Venezuela, between April 21 and 24. CAPANAPARO, Venezuela (Reuters) — Venezuelan biologist Carlos Alvarado, 34, has one hand on the young crocodile's neck and another on its tail. With the help of some tape and calipers, he is measuring it, tracking its growth a few days before it will be released into the wild. Alvarado's story — and that of the Orinoco crocodile he is caring for — is a tale of hope and persistence in the face of overwhelming odds. Reuters The eye of an Orinoco crocodile before its release into the wild at the Capanaparo River Fewer than 100 Orinoco crocodiles — one of the largest living reptiles in the world — remain in the wild, according to Venezuelan conservation foundation FUDECI. The animal's natural habitat is in the Orinoco River basin, which covers most of Venezuela and spills into Colombia. For decades, the men and women of the Venezuelan Crocodile Specialist Group have been raising younglings of the critically endangered species in captivity in a race against time to avoid its extinction. Reuters Orinoco crocodile eggs are seen in a hatching area at the Leslie Pantin Zoo. But they say they are losing that race. Decades of poaching for leather pushed the Orinoco crocodile to the brink, and now struggling Venezuelans who hunt the animals for meat and take their eggs for food threaten to deal the final blow. The members of the Crocodile Specialist Group are not getting any younger — and the next generation of biologists has mostly fled turmoil in Venezuela for jobs elsewhere. Alvarado remains alone to take up the baton. It is, he says, 'a great responsibility.' He has a sense of mission. He is trying to persuade university students to take part in the conservation effort. Federico Pantin, 59, is not optimistic. He is director of the Leslie Pantin Zoo in Turmero, near Caracas, which specializes in endangered species and is one of the places where the crocodile hatchlings are raised. 'We're only delaying the Orinoco's extinction,' he says. Reuters Alvaro Velasco shows a tattoo of an Orinoco crocodile on his shoulder, at the Terepaima Ranch near Elorza. Pantin and his colleagues keep on going, however — researching, measuring, transporting. The scientists log the sites where the long-snouted Orinoco are known to nest, collecting their eggs or hatchlings. They also breed captive adults kept at the zoo and at Masaguaral Ranch, a biodiversity center and cattle farm near Tamarindito in central Venezuela. The scientists raise the babies, feeding them a diet of chicken, beef and vitamins until they are about a year old and grow to a weight of around 6 kilograms. Adult Orinocos can reach over 5 meters in length, and can live for decades — a 70-year-old named Picopando resides at Masaguaral Ranch. The adults have tough, bony armor, fierce jaws and sharp teeth. They are not to be trifled with. Reuters A small museum at the Masaguaral Ranch But when they are first hatched, a researcher can cradle one in their hands. Omar Hernandez, 63, biologist and head of FUDECI, tags the tiny foot of a hatchling at the Leslie Pantin Zoo. To save the species, a number of efforts would be necessary, he says: research, protection, education and management. 'We are doing the management, collecting the hatchlings, raising them for a year and freeing them,' he says. But 'that is practically the only thing being done. And it is not being done at scale.' Every year the group releases around 200 young crocs into the wild. Reuters 203 Orinoco crocodile hatchlings raised in captivity before their release into the wild at the Capanaparo River The biologists wait until they are a year old, as that is the most critical period in their life, Hernandez says. It is when they are young that 'almost all are hunted.' In April, Reuters accompanied the scientists as they released this year's batch. The young animals were placed in crates, their jaws bound, for the journey from the zoo to the Capanaparo River, deep in western Venezuela not far from the Colombian border, where human habitations are few and far between. This part of the river passes through private land, reducing the likelihood that the animals will immediately be hunted. Alvaro Velasco, 66, who has a tattoo of an Orinoco crocodile on his right shoulder, covered the eyes of a juvenile with tape to avoid it becoming stressed during the journey. 'People ask me, 'Why crocodiles? They're ugly,'' said Velasco, president of the Crocodile Specialist Group. 'To me, they're fabulous animals. You release them and they stay there, looking at you, as if to say 'What am I supposed to do in this huge river?' And then they swim off.' Reuters Omar Hernandez carries an Orinoco crocodile hatchling raised in captivity before its release into the wild at the Capanaparo River. Pickup trucks drove the scientists, crocodiles and volunteers along muddy tracks to a camp near the river, where the humans spent the night sleeping in hammocks. The next day, they gently removed the crocodiles from their crates and carried them to the river. The juveniles slid into the muddy, greenish waters. 'Maybe many of these animals are going to be killed tomorrow or the day after tomorrow because of a lack of awareness among people and of course because of hunger,' said Hernandez. He echoed Pantin's comments that ultimately the Orinoco crocodile was likely doomed. But, he said, 'we're stubborn. It's a way of delaying extinction and it's something that is in our capacity to do. If we waited for the perfect circumstances, they would never come.'
Nikkei Asia
3 days ago
- Nikkei Asia
Trump: Putin said Russia would respond to Ukraine drone attacks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that Moscow would have to respond to the recent Ukrainian drone attacks, the U.S. president said. Trump said the two men "discussed the attack on Russia's docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides."
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
North Korea pulls capsized warship upright after botched launch, report says
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a launching ceremony of a new naval destroyer at a western port in Nampo, North Korea, on April 25. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via REUTERS) SEOUL--North Korea appears to have returned to an upright position its stricken Choe Hyun Class destroyer that partially capsized during a botched launching ceremony, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. Leader Kim Jong Un, who witnessed the failed launch of the 5,000-ton warship, said the accident damaged the country's dignity and vowed to punish those found responsible. Commercial satellite imagery from June 2 showed the destroyer upright for the first time since the May 21 accident, the 38 North program, which studies the nuclear-armed North, said in a report. Since the accident, North Korea has said it detained several officials, and Kim ordered the ship restored before a ruling party meeting this month. 'Commercial satellite imagery shows workers at the port in Chongjin have taken a significant step towards that goal,' 38 North said in its report. Workers were observed pulling tethers, and possibly using barrage balloons, in a manual effort to right the ship, it added. The imagery shows the vessel's bow still on land, with possible damage to its sonar section. 'To repair this, the ship will need to be moved out of the water to either a large floating drydock or graving dock once afloat,' 38 North said. 'However, Chongjin's shipyard does not offer this infrastructure.' The east coast shipyard has turned out primarily cargo and fishing vessels and lacks significant expertise in launching large warships such as the new destroyer, other military experts have said.
