Body of the late Catholic Pontiff, His Holiness ,Pope Francis , Saturday,April 26,2025 , returned to it’s mother earth after it’s 88 years of sojourn on earth.
Pope Francis ‘ body started it’s final journey to it’s final resting place after a solemn funeral Mass which was concluded at St. Peter’s Basilica after Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re completed the final rites of the liturgy.
The funeral procession to the Basilica of St. Mary Major where Pope Francis wished his body to be buried begun. The pontiff left the Vatican to cheers from a small crowd gathered to salute the Holy Father on his journey to the place of burial.
Pope Francis crossed the Eternal City in the popemobile for the final time.
Pix: Pope Francis ‘s body being conveyed to it’s resting place at Basilica of St Mary Major
Church leaders, U.S. President Donald Trump and some other other dignitaries , including the Nigeria ‘s delegation led by the Senate President,God’swill Akpabio were among over 250,000 mourners who gathered to pay their respects to the late pontiff.
The procession carrying Pope Francis’ body was conveyed to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for burial, following the previously announced route through central Rome.
Members of the diplomatic corps, including world leaders and dignitaries, departed from St. Peter’s Square as the solemn transfer of the pope’s remains continued to its final destination.
Map showing funeral procession route from St. Peter’s Basilica to Santa Maria Maggiore. EWTN News
The first Latin American pontiff led the Catholic Church for 12 years.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals presided over the mass, praising Francis’s “missionary vision, human warmth, spontaneity, witness to mercy, and charisma of welcome and listening.”
Over 150,000 people lined the streets of Rome to bid a final farewell to Pope Francis, who on Easter Sunday, the day before he died, had driven around St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile, where he, perhaps unknowingly, said goodbye to the faithful.
The procession on Saturday travelled through the ancient ruins of Rome, past the monument of the fallen soldiers in Piazza Venezia.
The late Pope, who so tirelessly advocated for peace, was driven past the ancient Roman Forum and the Colosseum, where his beautiful meditations for the Good Friday Way of the Cross had been read aloud just one week before, denouncing the economy of indifference and calling for an economy of peace.
The popemobile-turned-hearse drove up to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where his coffin was raised towards the crowd for a final goodbye.
Inside the Basilica, the Pope’s coffin was held for a few moments before the entrance to the Pauline Chapel, so that he could face the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani before being taken to the niche beside it prepared for his tomb.
At 1:00 PM, the Rite of the Burial of the Roman Pontiff began.
The rite took place according to the prescriptions of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontifici presided over by Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell, in the presence of those indicated in the relevant Notice from the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations and the family members of the deceased Pope. The liturgical ceremony concluded at 1:30 PM.
Pope Francis has been laid to rest in the burial niche in the side nave between the Sforza Chapel and the Pauline Chapel, which houses the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani. We can be sure that the two of them will never leave each other’s sides.
Pope Francis’ final wishes were respected and his body buried at the Basilica of St Mary Major as he wished. May his soul rest in peace.
Author: Maureen Ikpeama