Crowds beginning to come to the St Peter's Square on the morning of the passing of Pope Francis on April 21.
HAMBURG
The intention was to spend Easter in Rome with the family and leave, having joyfully received the Pope’s Easter Blessing. Little did I realise it would end with me standing in line with thousands of others to pay our last respects to him, one of the greatest men to have walked the Earth.
When my husband told me of his passing on April 21, it took a while to sink in. We had just been cheering for him in St Peter’s square the previous day during his Urbi et Orbi message on Easter Sunday. He had been riding through the crowds and kissing little babies on their heads, all to the tune of thousands screaming with delight in the background. How could it be that he was no more?
Alicia Ramos and her family were present at the Urbi et Orbi greetings of Pope Francis on Easter Sunday.
Shortly after we heard, we made our way to St Peter's Square on April 21, and countless others were doing the same. By 11 am, when we got there, the cobblestone-covered Square was teeming with people from all parts of the globe. Amidst the din, you could hear people making phone calls to deliver the news, echoes of prayers, and the crisp, formal reporting of media teams that had gathered. There was an air of disbelief at his passing, while some tourists had no idea of what had just happened.
The day after his death, I attended the Rosary held in front of St Peter's Basilica to pray for the repose of his soul. It was amidst one of the Hail Marys, when grief finally struck me and my eyes welled with tears. It was only then that I realised we had lost our Pope, a man whose genuine care for God’s creation, both people and planet, showed us all what it meant to be true Christians. A man who always wore a smile but never shied away from a stern lecture when needed. Our Papa was gone.
Later that evening, I walked back to the Square. It was considerably quiet with an air of anticipation. Around me, reporters were setting up for the next day’s coverage. A few bouquets of flowers had been laid at the foot of the Vatican Obelisk. As I scrolled through the news of his burial, I sighed at how even in death, he was so simple, requesting a simple coffin in place of the usual frills afforded to a man of his position.
The Pope’s body was due to be brought to St Peters on the morning of April 23. We had a flight back home in the afternoon, but we were still eager to pay our last respects.
Crowds pray the Rosary for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis on April 22.
Unfortunately, the sheer crowd we saw upon reaching didn't make it seem like a possibility. The queue stretched a couple of hundred metres back from the entrance and snaked its way along the walls of the Vatican City. There was no way we would make it for our flight if we stayed.
As we got on the airport bus, thus ended a trip I will be eternally grateful for. My family and I count ourselves incredibly blessed to have received the Pope’s last blessing. May his Easter message of peace and love prevail within us always. And may his beautiful soul rest in Peace.
