Feature story
* By Philippa Hitchen
So, when the news broke that Pope Francis had died early on 21 April of a stroke and heart failure, following his two months-long battle with bilateral pneumonia, there was a profound sense of bewilderment and disbelief.
Less than 24 hours earlier, he had been seen in his wheelchair on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica for the traditional Easter Urbi et Orbi blessing and then in the popemobile, greeting pilgrims and visitors in the square below. Weak and clearly struggling to speak, as he had been since his hospitalisation on 14 February, his return to the Vatican and appearances in the square on Palm Sunday and Easter Day had lulled people into a false sense of reassurance that he was making a slow but steady recovery.
Since his death, Rome has been filling up with people from around Italy and from all over the world, wanting to pay their last respects and to attend the funeral. On 21 April, following the ritual of sealing up of the papal apartments, the pope’s body was laid in a simple wooden coffin, as he himself had instructed in his last testament. The following day, the open coffin remained in the chapel of the Santa Marta guesthouse in the Vatican, where Francis had chosen to live for the past 12 years, before being carried by pallbearers in solemn procession into St Peter’s Basilica.
There, flanked by Swiss guards, beneath the great bronze canopy and high altar, built over Saint Peter’s burial place, the coffin has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, filing past to pay their last respects. Many carry rosaries, praying silently as they gaze in at the figure, robed in red, with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary between his fingers. Others are simply curious tourists, visiting the city for the holidays, eager to capture the moment on their mobiles. “No photos, no videos, only prayers,” the guards repeat, as they try to keep the river of people moving past the casket.
Security is tight but well organised, as the Vatican and Italian police work together with thousands of volunteers, drafted in to help herd the crowds converging on the famous square with its huge colonnades, designed by architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini to symbolically hold all of humanity in its sweeping embrace.
“It’s a sad moment, but I’m glad I can be here to see our Holy Father one last time,” said Katherine Mitchell, a Catholic from Derbyshire in the north of England, who was queueing to enter the Basilica with her two daughters, ages 7 and 9. “This is the first time I’ve visited Rome with my girls but I hope they will always remember this moment, as they learn more about Pope Francis and the way he cared so much about the poor and the need to protect our planet.”
Alongside Catholics of all ages and nationalities, the mourners include people from many other churches and faith communities, who saw in Pope Francis both a spiritual father and a vital voice for justice and peace at a time of rising xenophobia, polarisation, and hate speech. “Pope Francis was a man of deep faith who knew how to reach out to touch the hearts and minds of people who had a different faith from him,” said Cenap Aydin, a Muslim scholar based in Rome where he runs the Istituto Tevere centre for dialogue and intercultural studies. “He was a man of action, not only of words, and he worked constantly for a sustainable peace, giving a living witness to the Gospel through his life.”
Among the crowds who will gather in the square for the funeral on 26 April are presidents, prime ministers, and heads of over 130 nations, not all of whom welcomed Pope Francis’ words and actions with such enthusiasm. US president Donald Trump will be attending, alongside former president Joe Biden, a Catholic, who called the late pope “a loving pastor and challenging teacher [who] made all feel welcome and seen by the church.”
Delegations from many other churches and Christian world communions will also be present to give thanks for the life and ministry of Pope Francis, including a large Anglican delegation led by the Most Rev. Marinez Bassotto from Brazil, regional primate for the Americas and member of the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion. The first Latin American pope “was a humble servant who embodied a message of peace and love,” she said. “His example calls Christians to walk together in unity and to serve the poor and marginalised.”
Philippa Hitchen is a communications officer with the Lutheran World Federation and previously spent 30 years working as a journalist for Vatican Radio. She reports from Rome as preparations for the funeral of Pope Francis get underway.
WCC leaders to attend funeral of Pope Francis in Rome (WCC news release, 24 April 2025)
Pope Francis, ecumenical prophet of mercy, dies at age 88 (WCC obituary, 21 April 2025)
Voices from the fellowship: mourning Pope Francis (WCC feature story, 24 April 2025)
