Thousands of faithful bid their final farewell to Pope Francis, expressing a mixture of emotion, sadness, and respect.

On Saturday, the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in the center of Rome became Pope Francis’ final resting place after funerals that drew thousands of believers from around the world.

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“Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, will be the first pontiff in more than a century not to be entombed in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican,” recalled Nigerian outlet ChannelsTV.

Before reaching the basilica, thousands of faithful bid their final farewell to Pope Francis, expressing a mixture of emotion, sadness, respect, and the feeling of witnessing a historic moment.

Amid a broad security cordon and barriers blocking access to the St. Peter’s Square, people began gathering around the area from early in the morning to witness the arrival of the pontiff for his burial.

When the funeral procession arrived at the temple with Francis’s coffin, the faithful applauded emotionally during moments of utmost solemnity, while poor people, the homeless, and refugees welcomed him at the entrance of the basilica.

“It was a very emotional moment. He was a great pope,” said Jeronima Teixeira, a Portuguese woman who had arrived yesterday from the city of Porto to attend the funeral, where she wept from emotion, like so many other faithful. According to Teixeira, many Catholics “had a very strong bond” with Francis, which made it “worthwhile to make the trip” from afar to be present at the funeral.

After the casket entered Santa Maria Maggiore, some of the attendees began to leave, but many others remained in the square in front of the basilica, certain that the pope’s burial was taking place privately inside.

While the rosary continued to be prayed in the square, broadcast through loudspeakers, Anna, an Italian from the Calabria region, explained that she had come to Rome as a pilgrim. “It is a moment of great sorrow,” she said, still crying with sadness over the death of Pope Francis, who was buried in a simple tomb made of marble from the Italian region of Liguria, where his maternal grandparents were from.

Pope Francis was very devoted to the Marian image ‘Salus Populi Romani’; he often went to pray before this icon of the Virgin Mary and had expressly conveyed his wish to be buried in the temple.

teleSUR/ JF

Sources: EFE – ChannelsTV

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