Pope Francis funeral: Poor and powerful pray
Pope Francis funeral: Poor and powerful pray for pope ‘with an open heart’
Pope Francis was “a pope among the people, with an open heart toward everyone,” said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, as he presided over the funeral of the pope, who died April 21 at the age of 88.
And the people — an estimated 200,000 of them — were present as 14 pallbearers carried Pope Francis’ casket into St. Peter’s Square and set it on a carpet in front of the altar for the funeral Mass April 26.
His burial was scheduled for later the same day in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major after being driven in a motorcade through the center of the city where he served as bishop from the day of his election to the papacy March 13, 2013.