Vatican City – Thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square on Monday to pay their respects to Pope Francis after his death that morning.
A multitude of languages could be heard as people, many carrying flowers, spoke to each other in hushed tones.
As the sun set, a prayer was held for the late Argentinian pontiff, who died at the age of 88 following a stroke and heart failure.
His death came at a symbolic time, not just because it was Easter Monday, a day marking resurrection and new life, but also because it is the year of the Jubilee, a Catholic pilgrimage that occurs every quarter of a century.
Pope Francis had opened the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica just four months earlier to mark the beginning of the Jubilee as he welcomed millions of pilgrims to the Vatican.
He had invited the world in, and now, as Cardinal Kevin Farrell, camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church announced on Monday morning, he has “returned to the house of the Father”.
Pope Francis ‘felt authentic’
Miguel Cofarro, a 61-year-old devout Catholic from Rome, was at St Peter’s Square with three friends on Monday evening.
He said he felt like he had lost his grandfather – an “honest” character who had the people’s best interests at heart.
“Pope Francis took charge of the Vatican, fought corruption, and was more open with information. He felt authentic,” he said firmly, his friends nodding in agreement.
When Cofarro finished work, he made his way to the square with no real plan. He was, he said, like many Romans, still in shock.
Jessica Hernandez, a 39-year-old hotel worker originally from Mexico, said although she is not particularly religious, she was raised in a Catholic household, and the news had been a “powerful and upsetting shock”.
She had spent most of the evening on the phone to her mother in Mexico, describing the mood in St Peter’s Square.
Kevin de la Rosa, a 26-year-old bar worker from Venezuela, sat watching people gather at a heavily guarded, fenced-off area in front of the grand facade of St Peter’s Basilica, which is flanked by colossal statues of saints and opens onto the vast expanse of St Peter’s Square.
He said he came to the Vatican out of curiosity to witness how people were reacting and to experience the atmosphere on the historic day, which he described as “sombre” and “respectful”.
For de la Rosa, the mood evoked many childhood memories of his home country, where he attended a Catholic school.
Seeing how the pope’s death has moved people in Rome has helped him rediscover his respect for the Church, he said, explaining how, for him, the pontiff was an important figure who stood up for the poor.
Rome, Vatican braces for mourners from across the world
Luciano Biteno, a member of the International Red Cross, looked out over the square, adjusting his walkie-talkie as he communicated with 20 colleagues or so who were deployed to the area.
About a dozen ambulances flanked the periphery of the square.
Biteno said Monday was calm and there had been no medical emergencies to handle, but he expected many more people to arrive from around the world over the next few days.
He said all the authorities, including the police and military, are increasing their presence in the Vatican to handle the anticipated increase in the number of visitors following the pope’s death.
Hernandez said the hotel she works at is now fully booked for the next 15 days, and hotel staff have been told to prepare for overtime.
On Tuesday, she said, “Rome will change. It will be full of people – we have bookings from all over the world, and it feels like everyone is coming to this city.”
For now, the seat of St Peter is vacant, and the papal apartments are sealed.
The College of Cardinals, comprised of senior Catholic clergy, will have to choose Pope Francis’s successor, but, for now, there will be a nine-day mourning period in the Vatican as cardinals arrive from around the world. Pope Francis’s funeral will be held on Saturday, April 26.
