“We had come to visit the tomb inside the Basilica and we didn’t expect what happened at all,” says Jeremy, 28, a high school French literature teacher from Paris. In St. Peter’s Square, mourners and pilgrims from around the world are gathering to pay tribute to Pope Francis after his death. He passed away on Holy Monday at 7:35 a.m. at the age of 88.
“At one point I saw the notification on my phone announcing the Pope’s death” says Jeremy. The announcement arrived officially two hours after. Consequently, the access to the dome and tomb was blocked, and those already inside were escorted out.
Eve, 27, was traveling with Jeremy: “The Pope died while we were visiting the Basilica. We didn’t know what to do. We saw people start crying, it was a moment of turmoil”.
A month earlier, on March 23, Pope Francis had been discharged from the Gemelli Hospital, where he was treated for bilateral pneumonia. On Easter Sunday, he was present in St. Peter’s Square among the faithful and had met with the U.S. Vice President Vance earlier that morning.
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The square is now filled with a crowd of faithful and pilgrims from all over the world. Among them is Anahy, who traveled from Peru: “It’s a great sorrow. I always follow him. I was on a train when a man gave me a small medal of the Virgin Mary, and that’s when I decided to come to the Vatican. What happened to me is special.”
Groups from Asia are also present. Bayu, a 37-year-old priest from Indonesia currently studying in Rome, arrived at the Vatican shortly after hearing the news. “We’re here to say goodbye and to pray for him,” he says. “It’s Easter, a joyful season, but this is a time of sadness.”
Jennifer, a 55-year-old nun from the Philippines, is part of Bayu’s group: “The Pope is my spiritual father, a role model for me as a Christian and a believer in Jesus Christ.” Both Bayu and Jennifer plan to pray for the Pope with their community.
The faithful will gather in St. Peter’s Square at 7:30 p.m. for a rosary in memory of the Pope.
