Catholic faithful around the world paid homage to Pope Francis immediately upon the Vatican announcing his passing on Monday morning.
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, led the Catholic Church for 12 years starting in 2013. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, announced that the 88-year-old Pope passed away at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta on Monday morning. Hundreds of Catholics began gathering in St. Peter’s Square to bid farewell to the Pope in the early hours of Monday.
In Argentina, Pope Francis’s birthplace, local faithful flocked to churches to pray and to pay their respects to the late pope. Prior to becoming pope, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The Argentine newspaper Clarîn reported that the Buenos Aires Cathedral was “overflowing” with attendants, to the point that people had to sit on the floor during service.
“This is the first of many Masses that we will be celebrating. There is no special Mass. The Eucharist will be celebrated in all the parishes,” Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva said. “Until the day of the burial, we will surely summon everyone to the official Mass, the official ceremony, where the faithful and the authorities will be summoned.”
The Argentine faithful began visiting the Basilica of San José de Flores, located in the eponymous Flores neighborhood where Pope Francis worshipped as a youth, immediately after news of his passing was announced by the Vatican. Flores residents began leaving candles and flower offerings outside the home Pope Francis lived in during his childhood and adolescence.
The Archbishopric of the City of Buenos Aires announced that all Catholic schools will remain closed on Monday in an observance of mourning. Schools that had already received their students by the time news of the pope’s passing broke will close their doors on Tuesday, instead. Argentine President Javier Milei, who had a complicated relationship with Pope Francis, decreed seven days of national mourning and suspended all official government activities and events.
Argentina’s San Lorenzo soccer team, Pope Francis’s favorite team, released a video honoring the late pope and expressing gratitude.
In France, the bells at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris rang 88 times to mourn Pope Francis’s passing. Notre-Dame will hold two Masses on Monday to honor the late pope. Similarly, Masses have been scheduled to honor Pope Francis in cities including Madrid, Caracas, Mexico City, Bangkok, Montevideo, Philadelphia, and Milan.
The Italian government has reportedly started preparations to welcome the hundreds of thousands of faithful expected to travel to Rome to attend Pope Francis’s funeral proceedings at the Vatican. Celebrations scheduled to commemorate the 2,778th anniversary of the founding of Rome on April 21 were suspended.
According to local outlets, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni requested that Civil Defense Department Chief Fabio Ciciliano activate the necessary actions to ensure the orderly flow and assistance of the faithful who will reach Rome in the following days ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral. The request extends to facilitating the subsequent appointment of a new pope.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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