From Wednesday, the 23rd April until tonight, approximately 250,000 people in an atmosphere of faith and affection have made a pilgrimage to pay homage and say their last goodbye to Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
The death of Pope Francis, which occurred on Angel Monday, 21st April, 2025, has moved the whole world, who in the midst of great popular devotion bid him farewell, thanking him for his closeness and witness. As Br. Massimo Fusarelli pointed out in his Letter addressed to the entire Franciscan Order and Family on the occasion of the death of Pope Francis, the Pontiff lived his last moments as a true Christian witness, facing "sickness and tribulation" with patience and praise to the Most High, preparing for the encounter with "Sister Death" in a way that is profoundly significant for our time.
The faithful have shown their gratitude for a Pope who was always attentive to the least and the marginalized of society. His choice to live in Casa Santa Marta to maintain contact with the people and his habit of celebrating Mass in prisons and reception centres are testimonies of his closeness to the people, which Br. Massimo in his letter described as "an ever new return to evangelical simplicity, to the Church close to the poor, to the primacy of mercy and to the encounter with every human person."
In these days of mourning, popular devotion is also manifested in the rosaries that were prayed during his last days and that continue to be prayed by the faithful, as the Church prepares to elect his successor in an upcoming conclave.
Francis has left "an admirable witness of humanity, of holy life and of universal fatherhood," as the Vatican points out on the official website, which is reflected in the love and respect shown to him not only by Catholics, but by people of all faiths.
