Funeral or Canonisation? "Dear Francis, Pray for Us" – Cardinal Re
Over 130 foreign delegations were present. A meeting between US President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky (dressed in black, but not a suit, instead of his usual green camouflage) looked like a confession in St Peter's basilica. Among the crowd was WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
In the Italian sermon, Cardinal Re gave a 1500-word eulogy in which he spoke positively of the pontificate - something Francis had denied his predecessor.
"He chose the path of self-giving until his last day", following the Good Shepherd who "loved his sheep to the point of giving his life for them", living the words: "It is more blessed to give than to receive", Re claimed.
He assumed that Francis is among the blessed: “Dear Francis, we now ask you to pray for us. May you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world from heaven as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica".
The homily was followed by applause. Intercessions were read in many languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Portuguese, German, Chinese (Mandarin) and Polish.
While during John Paul's funeral (4 million people came to Rome) everyone shouted 'Santo subito', canonise immediately, no one used these words today.
What a contrast with modern social media communication: The Vatican newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano" distributed its Easter Monday edition with the news that Francis had died.
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