Thousands of faithful gather at Pope Francis' final resting place in Rome basilica
ADVERTISEMENT
Thousands of faithful have gathered since the early hours of Sunday at Rome's Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major to pray and pay their respects to Pope Francis who died last Easter Monday.
The flow of faithful has continued uninterrupted since 7 am when the basilica opened its doors, but many had been queuing outside the church gates since the crack of dawn.
According to sources at the Questura in Rome, some 20,000 people had reached the basilica by midday, 13,000 of whom had already entered.
Several Eucharistic celebrations have been held in the side chapels of the basilica since opening time with a main mass at 10 am at the central altar.
Due to the long queue, the faithful are invited to a very short prayer with a pause of only a few seconds in front of the pope's tomb near the effigy of the Salus Populi Romani.
What Pope Francis' tomb looks like
The tomb is simple, lit by a warm light, adorned only with a reproduction of the late pontiff's pectoral cross. Only "Francisus", the late pontiff's Latin name, is engraved on the pale marble, and a single white rose is laid.
Visits will be allowed until around 7 pm on Sunday and then resume throughout the following days of official mourning, after which the Conclave to elect the next head of the Catholic Church will be held.
No date has yet been set but the College of Cardinals must begin by 10 May, according to the dictates of canon law.
Fedeli in fila per visitare la tomba di Papa Francesco nella Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Roma, 27 aprile 2025
Alessandra Tarantino/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved
Huge crowds descend on the Vatican
The faithful also continued to flock to St Peter's Square in the Vatican on Sunday. According to the Vatican press office, about 200,000 people were present from St Peter's Square through to Via della Conciliazione, from Piazza Pia to Piazza Risorgimento.
The solemn mass was presided over by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, former Secretary of State and one of the favourites for the next Conclave.
Access to the square was blocked at around 10:30 am due to maximum capacity being reached. The faithful who were unable to access the parvis settled in Piazza Risorgimento and Piazza Pia to follow the mass from the jumbo screens.
Piazza San Pietro colma di fedeli per la messa in suffragio di Papa Francesco, Città del Vaticano, 27 aprile 2025
Andreea Alexandru/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved
Hundreds of young pilgrims in St Peter's Square for the Jubilee of Teenagers
In addition to the people who came to Rome to pray for Pope Francis, thousands of young pilgrims from all over the world were present in the Vatican for the Jubilee of Teenagers.
The three-day programme dedicated to the youth underwent some changes and the canonisation of Carlo Acutis, considered the first "millenial saint", was postponed.
During the emotional mass in suffrage of Pope Francis, Cardinal Parolin reminded the young people that the Pope would have loved to meet them.
''Easter joy, which sustains us in the hour of trial and sadness, is something that can almost be touched in this square today,'' he said during his homily.
ADVERTISEMENT
"You can see it etched above all in your faces, dear children and adolescents who have come from all over the world to celebrate the Jubilee. You come from so many places: from all the dioceses of Italy, from Europe, from the United States to Latin America, from Africa to Asia, from the Arab Emirates. With you the whole world is truly present."
''To you I address a special greeting, and to the bishops and priests who have accompanied you, with the desire to make you feel the embrace of the Church and the affection of Pope Francis, who would have liked to meet you, look you in the eyes, pass among you to greet you,'' Parolin added to applause in the Piazza.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
21 hours ago
- France 24
Harvard graduation ceremony cheers diversity amid Trump threats
Harvard graduates celebrated commencement on Thursday at a pivotal time for the Ivy League school, cheering speakers who stressed the importance of maintaining a diverse and international student body while standing up for the truth at a time the esteemed university is under threat by the Trump administration. Harvard's battles with Trump over funding and restrictions on teaching and admissions presented another challenge for the thousands of graduates who had already endured their share since arriving on campus four years ago. They started college as the world was emerging from a pandemic and, in the years since, grappled with student-led protests over the war in Gaza. Other schools face the loss of federal funding and their ability to enroll international students if they don't agree to the Trump administration's shifting demands. But Harvard, which was founded more than a century before the nation itself, has taken the lead in defying the White House in court and is paying a significant price. The Trump administration's latest salvos include asking federal agencies to cancel about $100 million in contracts with the Ivy League school. The government already canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants, moved to cut off Harvard's enrollment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Visa interviews for international students admitted to schools nationwide were halted on Tuesday, and Trump said Wednesday that Harvard should reduce its international enrollment from 25% to about 15%. Sustained by a $53 billion endowment, the nation's wealthiest university is testing whether it can be a bulwark against Trump's efforts to limit what his administration calls antisemitic activism on campus, which Harvard sees as an affront to the freedom to teach and learn nationwide. The Trump administration has demanded that Harvard make broad leadership changes, revise its admissions policies and audit its faculty and student body to ensure the campus is home to many viewpoints. In response to the administration's threats, Harvard has sued to block the funding freeze and persuaded a federal judge to temporarily halt the enrollment ban. During a hearing in Boston on Thursday, the judge extended her order blocking the ban on enrolling international students. Harvard President Alan Garber, who has repeatedly defended the school's actions, didn't directly touch on the Trump administration threats when he addressed the graduates Thursday. But he did get a rousing applause when he referenced the university's global reach, noting that it is 'just as it should be'. Several of the graduating speakers spoke more directly about the challenges facing the school and society. Speaking in Latin, salutatorian Aidan Robert Scully delivered a speech laced with references to Trump policies. 'I say this: ... Neither powers nor princes can change the truth and deny that diversity is our strength,' Scully said. It was a sentiment echoed by Yurong Luanna Jiang, a Chinese graduate who studied international development. She said she grew up believing that the 'world was becoming a small village' and that she would be part of the generation that would 'end hunger and poverty for humankind'. She said coming to Harvard, she found a global community that included classmates from all around the world. 'When I met my 77 classmates from 32 different countries, the countries I knew only as colorful shapes on a map turned into real people, with laughter, dreams and the perseverance to survive the long winter in Cambridge,' she said of the other students in her international development program. 'Global challenges suddenly felt personal.' Now, though, she said she wonders whether her worldview is under threat. 'We're starting to believe those who think differently, vote differently or pray differently, whether they are across the ocean or sitting right next to us, are not just wrong — we mistakenly see them as evil," she said. 'But it doesn't have to be this way.' Dr. Abraham Verghese, a bestselling author and Stanford University expert on infectious diseases, opened his keynote address by saying he felt like a medieval messenger 'slipping into a besieged community', with more attention focused on the university than perhaps anytime during its history. 'No recent events can diminish what each of you have accomplished here,' Verghese said. On Wednesday, basketball Hall of Famer and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the 'Class Day' speaker, and journalist Christiane Amanpour addressed graduates of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Both praised Harvard for standing up to the Trump administration, with Abdul-Jabbar specifically calling out the actions of Garber. 'When a tyrannical administration tried to bully and threaten Harvard, to revoke their academic freedom and to destroy free speech, Dr. Alan Garber rejected the illegal and immoral pressures,' Abdul-Jabbar said to wide applause as he compared Garber's response to Rosa Parks' stand against racist segregation. 'After seeing so many cowering billionaires, media moguls, law firms, politicians and other universities bend their knee to an administration that is systematically strip-mining the US Constitution, it is inspiring to me to see Harvard University take a stand for freedom," he continued. Earlier in the week Garber said in an interview with a university publication, that 'government overreach and devastating attacks on scientific and medical research are unwarranted and unlawful, and so we have taken legal action to defend the institution'. 'We should all be concerned that colleges and universities have increasingly come under attack. But we should not dismiss the criticisms even when they are based on distortions or inaccuracies — we need to look for the underlying concerns that can be embedded in them,' said Garber, who commissioned internal reports last year on antisemitism and anti-Arab prejudice at the school. The Trump administration has said it wants "to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment'. It cites campus protests against Israel. Like many college students around the country, Harvard students set up tents called on the university to divest from companies supporting Israel's military, which has leveled Gaza in response to attacks by Hamas. Last year, hundreds of graduating students walked out of commencement chanting 'Free, free Palestine' after weeks of campus protests. Harvard also said some protesters would not receive diplomas alongside their classmates, although it eventually allowed most to get them. This year, the anti-war demonstrations have largely faded from view, but protesters held a silent vigil a few hours before Thursday's ceremony. Holding signs that read 'Ceasefire Now' and 'Not Another Bomb', protesters stood silently along the walls of Harvard.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Euronews
Why Russia is unlikely to let the Vatican mediate Ukraine peace talks
The prospect of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine being mediated by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican is unlikely due to the influence of Russian Orthodoxy and Moscow's mistrust of the Catholic Church, according to political analysts and religious figures. Shortly after being elected, Pope Leo XIV said that the Vatican could act as a mediator in global conflicts, without specifically mentioning Russia's war against Ukraine. He later confirmed it to Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying the Vatican was indeed willing to host the next round of negotiations to try to put an end the war between Russia and Ukraine. After Kyiv and Moscow's direct talks in Istanbul yielded almost no progress, US President Donald Trump also mentioned the Vatican as a possible venue, following a conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. According to a recent statement by the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the pontiff plans to "if necessary, provide the Vatican, the Holy See, as a direct meeting (place) between the two sides". Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to the Vatican earlier this month and met Pope Leo XIV following his inaugural Mass. Zelenskyy is in favour of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow being held at the Vatican, Ukraine's foreign minister confirmed to Euronews last week. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticised the idea, saying that it would be "a bit inelegant for Orthodox countries to use a Catholic platform" for talks. Moscow's wariness of mediation by the Vatican predates Pope Leo XIV, according to Pasquale Ferrara, the director general for political affairs at Italy's foreign ministry, and a professor of diplomacy and negotiation at the LUISS University in Rome. "I don't think Putin sees the Vatican as having the necessary neutrality," Ferrara told Euronews. "This scepticism existed even under Pope Francis and is rooted in the long-standing coolness between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church." That tension has deep historical roots, stretching back to the Great Schism of 1054, when Christianity split into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. In August 2024, the Ukrainian parliament passed a bill banning activities of religious organisations connected to Russia and those that have administrative centres there. The legislation specifically targets the activities of the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which is legally subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church, the leading church in Russia and a close ally of the Kremlin, fully supporting Moscow's war in Ukraine. All UOC-MP communities were given nine months to fully break ties with the Russian church. Ukraine's Security Service accused a number of clergymen of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate of collaborating with the Krmelin and justifying Russian aggression. Over 100 UOC-MP clergy members have come under criminal investigation since the outbreak of the full-scale war, the Security Service of Ukraine said. Once a dominant religious group in Ukraine, the past few years have seen many Moscow Patriarchate communities switch allegiance to independent churches, namely the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. Founded in 2018 as an institution representing Ukrainian Orthodoxy fully independent of Moscow, it was granted the tomos of autocephaly — a document signifying canonical independence — by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the most senior priest of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Moscow Patriarchate hasn't recognised the decision and later tried to portray the Ukrainian government's steps against the Moscow-linked church as "persecution of Christians." The head of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), Patriarch Kirill, has been an ardent supporter of the war and a vital ally for Putin. Patriarch Kirill's vocal support for Putin's war has drawn criticism from the likes of Pope Francis and was dubbed a 'heresy' by other religious authorities. Dubbed the Tobacco Metropolitan for his alleged profiteering off of duty-free cigarettes in the 1990s, Patriarch Kirill fiercely maintains his pro-war stance, blaming the invasion on "gay parades" and making unproven claims that Ukrainians have been "exterminating" Russian civilians in the Donbas. In early May 2022, attempts by Brussels to add Kirill to the EU's list of sanctioned Russian nationals led to tensions among European leaders after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán blocked the move. The ROC's stance has seen some Orthodox Churches cut ties with the Moscow Patriarchate, including one in Amsterdam. Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic prelate, expressed his doubt about Russia's willingness to genuinely engage in peace talks or accept the Vatican as a mediator. "Pope Leo XIV has no influence over Russia. They don't recognise our Church at all," he told Euronews. The Vatican has a long history of mediating wars, conflicts and political disagreements, although it tends to work behind the scenes and avoid publicising its efforts. One of its greatest achievements in recent history was facilitating the talks between the US and Cuba in 2014 that ultimately resulted in the resumption of diplomatic relations. The Vatican has also often hosted far less secret diplomatic initiatives, such as when it brought together the rival leaders of war-torn South Sudan in 2019. The encounter was made famous by the image of Pope Francis kissing their feet to beg them to make peace. However, for the Kremlin, the idea of Pope Leo XIV mediating peace talks may be seen as an extension of the Catholic Church's Western legacy, according to Ferrara of the Italian foreign ministry. Ultimately, successful mediation depends less on the identity of the mediator and more on the parties' genuine willingness to seek peace, he said. "Russia has not shown the kinds of signals that would indicate a real desire to negotiate," Ferrara added. On 16 May, Russia and Ukraine held their first face-to-face discussions since shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion. During the talks in Istanbul, the two sides agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, in what is the biggest such swap to date. The discussions delivered no wider breakthrough on resolving Russia's war, and no further direct peace talks are scheduled, the Kremlin said last week. Moscow has had no issues with Ankara playing the host. Nonetheless, Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga said last week that he believed that the Vatican could still act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. "It is very difficult, yes, but everything is possible with Pope Leo XIV — he enjoys the trust of global leaders," he told the Italian newspaper La Stampa. Ferrara also said that the Vatican may have a role to play, despite the challenges. "We should not be too sceptical about the constructive role religion can play in building a new international order," he added. Spain has failed to obtain the necessary unanimity to elevate Catalan, Galician and Basque into official languages of the European Union, as several member states raised concerns over the administrative and legal implications of such an unprecedented move. The result materialised during a meeting of EU affairs ministers on Tuesday, where the issue was scheduled to be put to a formal vote. As the debate progressed, it became evident that the reservations in the room were enough to prevent consensus. "There was a large number of countries willing to support (the request), but there was a minority who asked for more time, and we decided to grant it," said Pilar Alegría, the chief spokesperson of the central government in Madrid. "We're going to continue working and discussing." The request dates back to 2023, when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez secured the support of Catalan separatist lawmakers, who hold a small but crucial number of seats in the Spanish parliament, to form a minority government. As part of the investiture deal, Sánchez promised to bring to Brussels a proposal to amend Regulation 1/1958 and turn Catalan, Galician and Basque into official EU languages. The backing of regional parties has become more pressing after Sánchez unveiled a new budget with a steep hike in defence spending that needs the parliament's blessing. As of today, Regulation 1/1958 recognises 24 languages. The designation implies the translation of every legal act, including the daily publication of the official journal, and real-time interpretation during debates in the EU Council and the European Parliament. A first attempt to change the regulation was swiftly rejected in September 2023, despite Madrid offering to pay in full for the additional expenses. The fiasco prompted months of behind-the-scenes negotiations to convince the reluctant countries and secure the required unanimity. Spain asked for the issue to be put on the agenda on Tuesday morning, even if the arithmetic looked very uncertain in the lead up to the ministerial meeting. On arrival in Brussels, Joakim Strand, Finland's minister for European affairs, cast doubt over the request, arguing the issue was not "mature yet". "There are still some concerns that have been (raised) also by the Council legal service, and I think that's something we need to take very seriously," Strand told reporters. "I think linguistic diversity is important, and we're always constructive, and we want to continue the discussion." Sweden's Jessica Rosencrantz and Austria's Claudia Plakolm also highlighted the importance of respecting the EU's diversity, but echoed the concerns about the financial and legal implications that the triple designation would entail. The European Commission previously estimated the cost to be €132 million per year, with Catalan, Galician and Basque costing €44 million each. The assessment was preliminary, based on the past experience with Gaelic in Ireland. Spain's domestic settlement on language is unique in Europe. Under the country's constitution, enacted in 1978 after the end of the military dictatorship, the three languages gained co-official status in the regions where they are spoken and enjoy the same legal standing as Castilian. Catalan is spoken by more than 9 million people across Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands, as well as Andorra. Galician is a distant second, with around 2.5 million speakers in Galicia, the northwest corner of Spain. The Basque language or Euskara, which does not originate from Latin, is spoken by over 750,000 people in the Basque Country and Navarra, and also in the bordering areas of southern France. "This is not a matter of translating more or less documents, it is a matter of respecting the identity of European citizens," Catalonia President Salvador Illa told Euronews in February during an official visit to Brussels. "This is not, let's say, a political issue, or a political demand. I would put it from another angle. This is a fair measure from a linguistic point of view. There are 20 million citizens who speak these official languages."
LeMonde
4 days ago
- LeMonde
Germany's Merz says Western allies no longer impose range limits on Ukrainian weapons
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday, May 26, that Germany, along with Ukraine's other key Western backers, had lifted range restrictions on weapons they send to Kyiv to fight against Russia. Merz, who took office early this month, also vowed that "we will do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine, including militarily," in close coordination with other supporters. "There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine – neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans," he said. "This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia... With very few exceptions, it didn't do that until recently. It can now do that." The previous German government of center-left chancellor Olaf Scholz strongly backed Kyiv but shied away from sending it long-range Taurus missiles, worried that this might escalate tensions with the nuclear power. Merz has in the past said he favors delivery of Taurus, which could strike targets deep inside Russia. His government has since stressed it would no longer detail what arms it is sending to Ukraine, preferring a stance of strategic ambiguity. Speaking in a lengthy interview with public broadcaster WDR, Merz did not say whether Germany would now send Taurus missiles to Kyiv. The recently appointed chancellor took the opportunity to slam Russian President Vladimir Putin's reluctance to engage in talks to end the fighting in Ukraine. The Kremlin chief has responded to diplomatic efforts to bring the conflict to a close by prosecuting the war "harder than before," Merz told WDR. "Putin obviously sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness," Merz said. Since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House this year, he has sought to push the two sides in the conflict toward direct talks at the highest level. Trump last week suggested the Vatican as a possible host for a meeting, with the Italian government saying the leader of the Catholic Church was ready to organise talks. But Moscow has cast doubt on the potential for the Holy See as a host. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it would be "inelegant" for the Catholic Church to mediate discussions between two principally Orthodox Christian countries. Merz said that Ukraine's Western backers had sought to use all the diplomatic options available to them to initiate talks. "After the last three weeks, no one can seriously accuse us of not having exhausted all available diplomatic means," Merz said. Short of "raising the white flag," Ukraine's supporters had "done everything" they could.
