VATICAN, April 26, 2025 –– Pope Francis’ “insistence” on working for the poor was woven into today’s funeral events, with groups of underprivileged people invited to watch the service in St. Peter’s Square.
Those involved were chosen by the charity, Sant’Egidio, and they represented groups he felt were marginalised – including the homeless, migrants, the impoverished and a group of transgender women who live in a convent in Rome.
A group of marginalised people was also invited to line the steps of his final resting place, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, at the end of the funeral procession.
The Argentine pope believed “the poor have a privileged place in the heart of God,” a Holy See statement issued before the funeral said.
“For this reason, a group of poor and needy people will be present on the steps leading to the papal Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore to pay their last respects to Pope Francis before the burial of his coffin.”
Pope Francis, who chose his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, with his commitment to poverty, peace and nature, wanted to reflect his own dedication to the homeless and disadvantaged.
“Pope Francis has done so much for people like me, people who are struggling, people who are unable to even pay to have our clothes washed,” said Anna Melnyk, a 30-year-old Ukrainian woman who came to Rome before the war. She regularly used a laundromat the late pope had set up for people in need. “He has made us feel like part of his family, especially those of us who have no families of our own,” she told CNN.
Florian Gretz, 66, who has been camping out near the Vatican for several years, recounted the time Pope Francis invited homeless people to dine inside the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall in 2023. “He treated us with respect and dignity, we sat at tables and ate with silverware,” Gretz said. “Will the next pope do that?”
SOURCE CNN
https://thecooperator.news/pope-francis-dies-on-easter-monday-aged-88/
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