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Herald Malaysia
23-04-2025
- General
- Herald Malaysia
Pope Francis' Vatican 'family' pay tearful respects
Vatican staff and faithful mourn him in the chapel of Santa Marta, the humble home where he lived, served, and died Apr 23, 2025 The late Pope Francis' body lies in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta. (Photo: Vatican News) By AFP, Vatican City In the chapel of the Vatican's Santa Marta residence, where Pope Francis lived and died, a nun prayed on April 22 with tears in her eyes before the pontiff's wooden coffin. Swiss guards in their brightly coloured uniforms stood either side of the casket laid out for Vatican staff, officials and dignitaries to pay their respects before a public lying-in-state starts on April 23. The pontiff, who died on April 21 aged 88, was dressed in his papal vestments -- a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes, with rosary beads laced around his fingers. Before being granted access to the chapel, mourners waited in a marble-tiled hall, where only the faint sounds of whispers punctuated the silence. In keeping with the humility he preached, Francis chose to live in the Santa Marta residence after becoming pope in 2013, preferring its simplicity and the company of others over the isolated opulence of the Apostolic Palace. And it was in the residence that the privileged few were invited to pay their respects, away from the prying eyes of the public or the press, before the coffin was transferred to St Peter's Basilica on April 23 morning. 'Gratitude' Among the visitors to the chapel were a mix of religious and lay people, from bishops, members of dicasteries -- the Vatican's government departments -- and top Curia officials to gardeners, firefighters and medical staff who work in the tiny city state. Italy's President Sergio Mattarella was also among the early mourners. They were allowed in groups into the elegant air-conditioned chapel on the ground floor of the residence. Some prayed in silence, others could not hold back tears. Lowering their heads or making the sign of the cross, they spent a moment in quiet reflection, some kneeling. "There's an atmosphere of contemplation and prayer, but for those of us who accompanied him, this seems unreal," a Brazilian laywoman and member of a communication dicastery said, on condition of anonymity. "I was there for his election, I followed him throughout his pontificate, so I couldn't miss out on seeing him here, at Santa Marta, which was his house -- in a way it was also partly ours." She said she felt "a lot of gratitude" and "simply wanted to embrace him." 'Great peace' In his down-to-earth style, the man born as Jorge Bergoglio ate meals every day in the dining hall of the residence, amongst the employees, whom he never failed to greet."I felt like it was his family, the people of Santa Marta and the Vatican, who came here to pay tribute to him, with great tenderness," said a member of a dicastery who paid their respects."It reminded me of a mass with Vatican employees. What struck me was that the pope was sitting on one of the benches amongst the faithful."During the Covid pandemic in 2020, the Vatican broadcast masses celebrated by Francis in the chapel to Catholics living in confinement across the 266th bishop of Rome died in his 70 square metre (750 square feet) apartment on the second floor of the residence.A Polish nun, who works at the Umberto I hospital in Rome, said she had felt "great peace" when she prayed next to his coffin. "But most of all, I wanted to pay homage for everything he did for the Church," she added, her eyes welling
Gulf Today
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Gulf Today
UAE secure back-to-back wins at Giro d'Abruzzo
Following on from Alessandro Covi's spectacular victory on stage 1, UAE Team Emirates-XRG made it two wins in two days at the Giro d'Abruzzo, with Ivo Oliveira coming up trumps with a sensational late attack in Penne. The Portuguese rider attacked 1.5km from the finish and held off the chasing pack on stage 2 to take his fourth career victory and the Emirati squad's 29th win of the season. Taken in such incredible fashion, the win was made all the more sweet for what it meant to the stage victor. So often proving an invaluable help to his teammates, Oliveira's previous victories have come in the Portuguese national championships and a prologue of the Boucles de la Mayenne, meaning that this was the 28-year-old's first victory in a road race for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. The delight of Oliveira, his teammates and the UAE Team Emirates-XRG staff was clear to see beyond the line, in an emotional scene that was only fitting for such a tremendous start to the race by the Emirati squad. Behind Oliveira on stage 2, Covi rode strongly in the leader's jersey to finish fourth. He hands the race lead over to Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), who has finished second in both opening stages, but the Italian sits just two seconds off the jersey heading into stage 3. Speaking to the media after the finish, Oliveira explained just how much it meant to win stage 2 and seize his own opportunity. Oliveira: 'I am still speechless. After a lot of setbacks and working for the team, I was really happy to take this victory and take the chance. 'It was supposed to be for Covi this stage. I spoke to him with 4km to go and said, 'just stay on the wheel and I will try to anticipate, we have two cards to play.' He was super good and he was super nice and he just said, 'yeh go for it.' 'At 1.5km to go, I just did my last attack. It was a bit steeper than I thought, and I thought that in the last 100m, I was really short on my power - but it was enough and I cannot believe it. I am so emotional. I think, outside of prologues and nationals, I think this was my first victory for the team in a road race, so I am super proud. The team believed in me, my family, my girlfriend, and this is how I say thank you to them. 'This team is so strong and we work as a family, and we have so many options. I know I have a super good kick, it is like going for a 4km individual pursuit effort, and I really like this kind of finish. The pace was not so high, so I could keep control and I know that if I have a 100m gap, it is really hard to close on me. Fortunately, I was feeling good during the final. 'I am super proud, super happy, super emotional, I cannot believe I just did this.' Earlier in the stage, UAE Team Emirates-XRG had marshalled the peloton on behalf of race leader, Covi. A two-man breakaway had been allowed up the road, but all in attendance recognised that the final 3km climb to the finish would prove decisive. As such, the gap to the breakaway gradually reduced and heading into the last 5km, the fight for the stage honours was to be contested amongst the peloton.
Gulf Today
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Gulf Today
UAE Team Emirates-XRG's Covi wins opening stage of Giro d'Abruzzo
UAE Team Emirates-XRG rode the opening stage of the Giro d'Abruzzo to perfection, seizing a vice-like grip of the day and teeing up Alessandro Covi to take the stage 1 victory. In doing so, the man known as Il Puma di Taino - the Puma of Taino - claimed his first victory in three years, marking a brilliant afternoon of racing for the Emirati squad in Italy. Before the day's finale, a breakaway went up the road and contested the day's secondary prizes, but was not allowed of the leash by a peloton that was largely led by UAE Team Emirates-XRG. With a little over 30km to ride, the race was brought together as one under the impetus of Enea Sambinello and Ivo Oliveira, both of whom traded strong turns at the head of the peloton. With the breakaway mopped up, there was a moment for opportunists to seek their fortune off the front. Among those who quickly went on the attack were Damien Howson, Harm Vanhoucke (both Q36.5 Pro Cycling) and Louis Meintjes (Intermarchè-Wanty), but it was the Emirati squad who remained in control by tracking the move through Oliveira. The former Portuguese national champion handily embedded himself within an eight-man group that soon gained a 25-second advantage over the peloton, but did not take up the bait to contribute to the work out front. With Oliveira getting an armchair ride towards the last climb, owing to the presence of his teammates behind - who would be more suited to the uphill finish - UAE Team Emirates-XRG could take a moment to relax in the peloton and allow other teams to come to the fore. With the likes of VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè and Israel Premier Tech Academy forced to commit their resources to bringing back the move, the gap to the breakaway naturally came down and with their advantage hovering at around 10 seconds, Oliveira sat up to wait for the peloton. Once the 28-year-old had taken his place in the wheels with 8km to go, his teammate Rune Herregodts came to the front and drilled the peloton with a lightning turn of pace. Under his steam, the peloton swamped the remainder of the front group and began to dwindle in number, as the final 3km reared into view. Guiding his teammates Covi and Pablo Torres into the pointy end of proceedings, Herregodts was so strong that he briefly opened up a gap on the peloton with a smart spell of descending. For a moment, it looked as though the Belgian might head into the 1.5km rise to the finish with a nifty advantage, but he quickly realised his strength and spent the rest of his bullets driving his teammates up the climb. With 800m to ride, Oliveira took over from Herregodts and delivered a powerful pull for the next half a kilometre. Acting as a more than effective uphill lead-out man for Covi, the Portuguese brought the 26-year-old through to 300m from the line, at which point Covi decided it was time to take charge. Rising out of his saddle, the Puma burst clear of his rivals and opened up his sprint for the line. With nobody able to come around the resurgent Italian, Covi was able to celebrate his first victory in almost three years - with his last stage success coming at the 2022 Giro d'Italia. Given the team's excellent performance, Covi was understandably delighted beyond the finish as he reflected on UAE Team Emirates-XRG's 28th victory of the campaign. Covi: 'It is super nice, it is always nice to win. It is difficult because it has been three years, but we are professional, we work for this victory and we work every day of the week to arrive one time [with a win], maybe two or three - but it is difficult for most riders to win. Then I win again after three years. 'Obviously, when I had this race in my programme, I saw this finale and it was a good opportunity. With the team we tried to make the race [hard] to arrive with a small group to the finish, and we did it perfectly. In the last kilometre, I won the sprint. It was hard but every race is hard. It was not only the last effort. 'The final kilometre I could go full gas from the bottom to the finish.'
