logo
Catholic Faithful Pay Their Final Respects to Pope Francis as Public Viewing Begins

Catholic Faithful Pay Their Final Respects to Pope Francis as Public Viewing Begins

Yomiuri Shimbun24-04-2025

The Associated Press
The body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three days.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Thousands of people began filing through St. Peter's Basilica to pay their final respects to Pope Francis on Wednesday at the start of three days of public viewing ahead of his funeral.
Throngs of the faithful made their way to the 16th century basilica's main altar where Francis' open wooden casket was perched, as Swiss Guards stood at attention. Over the coming days, tens of thousands of people are expected to pass through, and the Vatican said it may extend the viewer hours even longer due to high turnout. In the first 8 1/2 hours, 19,430 people paid their respects to the pope.
Francis was laid out in red robes, clasping a rosary and wearing a bishop's miter, the traditional pointed headdress. Mourners waited hours to reach the casket, which was behind a cordon. Some held their cell phones aloft as they neared to snap photos in what has become a modern ritual.
'It gave me chills,' said Ivenes Bianco, as she left. She was in Rome from the southern city of Brindisi for medical care, and came to pay her respects. 'He was important to me because he encouraged co-existence. He brought many people together.'
Francis' casket wasn't put on an elevated bier — as was the case with past popes — but placed on a ramp, facing the pews. It was in keeping with his wishes for the rituals surrounding a papal funeral to be simplified to reflect his belief that the pope's role is that of simple pastor, not world leader.
Cardinals, meanwhile, met in private to finalize preparations for Saturday's funeral and plan the conclave to elect Francis' successor.
Francis died on Monday at age 88, capping a 12-year pontificate characterized by his concern for the poor and message of inclusion, but also some criticism from conservatives who sometimes felt alienated by his progressive bent.
Francis first lay in state in the hotel where he lived, in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household. Images released by the Vatican on Tuesday showed the pope in an open casket, his hands folded over a rosary.
Wednesday opened with the bells of St. Peter's tolling as pallbearers carried Francis' body into the basilica, in a procession through the piazza where he had delivered his final goodbye. Francis had made a surprise popemobile tour through the faithful on Easter Sunday, after his nurse assured him he could despite his frail health from a bout of pneumonia and long hospitalization.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is running the Vatican until a new pope is elected, led the procession to the altar, with clouds of incense and the choir chanting the Litany of Saints hymn. In pairs, cardinals approached the casket, bowed and made a sign of the cross, followed by bishops, ushers, priests and nuns.
Then the doors were opened to the public. There was the squeak of sneakers, the rustling of kneeling nuns, the murmur of quiet prayers. A cough, a child's cry.
'We knew there were many people, so we approached this with calmness,' said Rosa Morghen from Naples, adding: 'It's the feeling one experiences when a family member passes away, as he is a father, a grandfather who has gone.'
The public viewing ends Friday at 7 p.m., after which Francis' casket will be closed and sealed.
The funeral has been set for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square. It will be attended by world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy.
After the funeral, the conclave
Francis' death and funeral will usher in a carefully orchestrated period of transition in the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church, with cardinals gathering over the coming days before entering a conclave, the secretive ritual voting in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope.
There are 133 cardinals who are under 80 years old and eligible to vote, after two bowed out for health reasons, and the new pontiff will likely come from within their ranks. The conclave is not expected to begin before May 5.
South Korean Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, who heads the Vatican's office for priests, predicted a short conclave but acknowledged the transition is full of uncertainties.
'We'll see what the Holy Spirit says,' he said Wednesday. Asked if the next pope could come from Asia, where the Catholic Church is growing, he insisted: 'For the Lord, there's no East or West.'
Papua New Guinea's first and only cardinal, John Ribat, prepared Wednesday to leave for Rome to participate in the vote, pleased to represent the South Pacific island nation of 12 million people and more than 800 languages in a College of Cardinals that Francis greatly diversified.
'To have a representative from here to be in the conclave, it is a big thing,' Ribart told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. He said he hoped the next pope would be someone who could lead the church in 'a way that is truthful and binds everyone together.'
Italian police have tightened security for the events, carrying out foot and horse patrols around the Vatican, where pilgrims continued to arrive for the Holy Year celebrations that Francis opened in December.
'The death of a pope is not a small thing, because we've lost our leader,' said Julio Henrique from Brazil. 'But still, in a few days, we will have a new leader. So … the thing of hope remains. Who will assume Peter's throne?'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US and China are holding trade talks in London after Trump-Xi phone call
US and China are holding trade talks in London after Trump-Xi phone call

The Mainichi

time11 hours ago

  • The Mainichi

US and China are holding trade talks in London after Trump-Xi phone call

LONDON (AP) -- High-level delegations from the United States and China are meeting in London on Monday to try and shore up a fragile truce in a trade dispute that has roiled the global economy, A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng is due to meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at an undisclosed location in the city. The talks are due to last at least a day. They follow negotiations in Geneva last month that brought a temporary respite in the trade war. The two countries announced May 12 they had agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100%-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparked fears of recession. Since then, the U.S. and China have exchanged angry words over advanced semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, "rare earths" that are vital to carmakers and other industries, and visas for Chinese students at American universities. President Donald Trump spoke at length with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone last Thursday in an attempt to put relations back on track. Trump announced on social media the next day that trade talks would be held on Monday in London. The U.K. government says it is providing the venue and logistics but is not involved in the talks. "We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody's interests, so we welcome these talks," the British government said in a statement.

Trump's New Travel Ban Takes Effect As Tensions Escalate over Immigration Enforcement
Trump's New Travel Ban Takes Effect As Tensions Escalate over Immigration Enforcement

Yomiuri Shimbun

time13 hours ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

Trump's New Travel Ban Takes Effect As Tensions Escalate over Immigration Enforcement

AP Travelers cart their luggage through the international arrivals area at the Los Angeles International Airport, Saturday. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday amid rising tension over the president's escalating campaign of immigration enforcement. The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don't hold a valid visa. The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all U.S. diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting Monday. Travelers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the U.S. even after the ban takes effect. During Trump's first term, a hastily written executive order ordering the denial of entry to citizens of mainly Muslim countries created chaos at numerous airports and other ports of entry, prompting successful legal challenges and major revisions to the policy. No such disruption was immediately discernible at Los Angeles International Airport in the hours after the new ban took effect. Haitian-American Elvanise Louis-Juste, who was at the airport earlier Sunday in Newark, New Jersey, awaiting a flight to her home state of Florida, said many Haitians wanting to come to the U.S. are simply seeking to escape violence and unrest. 'I have family in Haiti, so it's pretty upsetting to see and hear,' Louis-Juste, 23, said of the travel ban. 'I don't think it's a good thing. I think it's very upsetting.' Many immigration experts say the new ban is more carefully crafted and appears designed to beat court challenges that hampered the first by focusing on the visa application process. Trump said this time that some countries had 'deficient' screening for passports and other public documents or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. He relied extensively on an annual Homeland Security report of people who remain in the U.S. after their visas expired. Measuring overstay rates has challenged experts for decades, but the government has made a limited attempt annually since 2016. Trump's proclamation cites overstay rates for eight of the 12 banned countries. Trump also tied the new ban to a terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. U.S. officials say the man charged in the attack overstayed a tourist visa. He is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump's restricted list. The ban was quickly denounced by groups that provide aid and resettlement help to refugees. 'This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,' said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, a nonprofit international relief organization. The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban does make exceptions for Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, generally people who worked most closely with the U.S. government during the two-decade-long war there. Afghanistan had been one of the largest sources of resettled refugees, with about 14,000 arrivals in a 12-month period through September 2024. Trump suspended refugee resettlement his first day in office.

Leo, the First US Pope, Criticises Nationalist Politics at Sunday Mass
Leo, the First US Pope, Criticises Nationalist Politics at Sunday Mass

Yomiuri Shimbun

time16 hours ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

Leo, the First US Pope, Criticises Nationalist Politics at Sunday Mass

Reuters Pope Leo XIV leads the mass for the Jubilee of the Ecclesial Movements, Associations and New Communities, in St. Peter square at the Vatican, June 8, 2025. VATICAN CITY, June 8 (Reuters) – Pope Leo criticized the emergence of nationalist political movements on Sunday, calling them unfortunate, without naming a specific country or national leader. Leo, the first pope from the U.S., asked during a Mass with a crowd of tens of thousands in St. Peter's Square that God would 'open borders, break down walls (and) dispel hatred.' 'There is no room for prejudice, for 'security' zones separating us from our neighbours, for the exclusionary mindset that, unfortunately, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,' said the pontiff. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected on May 8 to succeed the late Pope Francis as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church. Before becoming pontiff, Prevost was not shy about criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump, sharing numerous disapproving posts about Trump and Vice President JD Vance on X in recent years. The Vatican has not confirmed the new pope's ownership of the X account, which had the handle @drprevost, and was deactivated after Leo's election. Francis, pope for 12 years, was a sharp critic of Trump. The late pope said in January that the president's plan to deport millions of migrants in the U.S. during his second term was a 'disgrace.' Earlier, Francis said Trump was 'not Christian' because of his views on immigration. 'A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,' Francis said when asked about Trump in 2016. Leo was celebrating a Mass for Pentecost, one of the Church's most important holidays.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store