“We want to say goodbye because he (was a) living saint, very humble and simple.” Eduardo Valencia, who was visiting from Mexico, said,
“You can feel a lot of energy, yes, a little bit of despair because we are tired, but ultimately we want to come and say ‘thank you’, thanks to Pope Francis for all he did for his church.”
Watching events on many wide screens surrounding the area, the enormous audience was mostly quiet.
The ritual began with a round of applause as the casket, inlaid with a big cross, was carried out of St. Peter’s Basilica and onto the plaza by 14 pallbearers wearing white gloves.
