Hundreds Of Thousands Of Mourners Bid Farewell To Pope Francis

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) GENEVA, April 26 (KUNA) - - The Vatican led a solemn funeral procession for Pope Francis leading to his final resting place at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on Saturday.
His coffin was left open allowing followers to pay their last respects. St. Peter's Square and the streets of Rome were filled with hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered to bid him a final farewell.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re Dean of the College of Cardinals presided over the funeral rites at the Vatican in accordance with the simple funeral rituals that the late Pope himself had chosen in line with his humble character and papal journey according to the Vatican.
In an address during the ceremony Cardinal Re paid tribute to Pope Francis' tireless dedication to promoting peace and interfaith dialogue recalling the signing of the "Document on Human Fraternity" alongside the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the United Arab Emirates in February 2019.
The funeral procession set out covering approximately six kilometers through the streets of Rome following part of the historic "Via Papalis" route historically traveled by newly elected popes.
Along the way the cortege passed several symbolic landmarks including the Colosseum which traditionally hosts the "Way of the Cross" ceremony on Good Friday.
In a will he personally drafted in 2022 Pope Francis had requested a funeral that reflected his humility and closeness to the poor.
He also requested to be buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore outside the Vatican walls a historic break from tradition the first in 150 years as previous popes were buried at St. Peter's Basilica.
The funeral saw an extraordinary turnout with more than 200,000 mourners and 130 world leaders including heads of state monarchs and representatives from various governments and religious groups.
In a related announcement the Vatican confirmed the appointment of Cardinal Kevin Farrell as the interim administrator of Vatican affairs until the election of a new pope within the next two weeks in accordance with conclave traditions.
Pope Francis the 266th pope of the Catholic Church was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires in Argentina on the 17th of December 1936 to a family of Italian immigrants. He was elected pope on the 13th of March 2013 succeeding Pope Benedict XVI who had resigned. (pick up previous)
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