Jorge Bergoglio is the first Pope in 122 years of history to remain outside the Vatican
Rome, Italy (Folhapress) – Two saved from palms and flowers left on an altar on the staircase of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maior ended a long day dedicated to Francis on Saturday (26) in Rome. After a funeral and 400,000 people between São Pedro Square and the six -kilometer route through the Italian capital, some hundreds participated in the rosary prayer dedicated to the Pontiff on the Roman night, in front of the place where he was buried.
Jorge Bergoglio is the first Pope in 122 years of history to remain outside the Vatican, a desire expressed in a will, but ventilated last year in an interview with Mexican TV. Saint Mary Major was the church that most frequented in Rome, with which she said she had a special connection.
He even went to the place a hundred times, in official counting, perhaps a little more in the perception of the faithful. “I didn’t come much in this church, but once I entered by chance and found it. It was amazing, he was very friendly,” said Blanca SolorSeno, Ecuadorian, resident of Rome eight years ago. “It was always seen somewhere in town, without many security guards, very quiet, without drawing attention. It was like one more.
“Francis would probably appreciate the description of the admirer. The choice of church, located near Termini, the central railway station, cheap hotels and luggage stores and trinkets, seems to fit more with the Argentine Pope than the gravity of St. Peter’s Basilica, where his predecessors of this century are.
The wooden coffin, taken in a procession at a PapaMobile, was received at the scene by a group of socially vulnerable people selected by the Vatican and that was nicknamed “last” by the Italian media. They were known to Francisco, irregular immigrants, homeless people, transvestites. “They shouldn’t be called ‘last’, Pope prioritized,” a social worker told La Repubblica.
In the afternoon, after the burial held at closed doors, the square in front of Santa Maria Maior was home to a more worldly universe, in a mix of prayers and selfies. Religious, tourists, groups of adolescents participating in Jubilee, content creators and TV teams shared the space, still without the altar mounted on the cathedral staircase.
In the evening, the Byzantine icon Salus Populi Romani, salvation of the Roman people, was taken from the Basilica to the Rosary. Mary’s painting with Jesus in her arms in a wooden piece is one of the church’s attractions, which has the highest bell tower in Rome, 75 meters. A choir and several guests participated in the night celebration, which took place without the traffic of the area being interrupted, giving a curious character to the event. Some cars and motorcycles even leaned against the big screens to accompany the ceremony.
At the end of the celebration, spontaneously, the crowd applauded Francis and his basilica. Bouquets of flowers were delivered to security guards to be deposited by the makeshift special altar.
Francisco’s tomb, marked by a simple tombstone with his name inscribed in Latin, Franciscus, will be opened for visitation this Sunday (27). According to the Vatican, Santa Maria Maior will open every day, as will shelter regular masses. Like a normal church, how the Pope would probably like it to be.
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