The funeral ceremony will take place outside the Vatican, between the streets of Rome, tracing the first stretch of the 1960’s Olympic marathon. Towards the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he will find a white tomb with only one word engraved
The last earthly act of Pope Francis summarizes the meaning of his pontificate: leaving the Vatican and bringing the Church among the people. This morning, during the funeral ceremony, he will have the greats of the Earth, 130 delegations of rulers and heads of state, but then he will give them up to reach his last destination, the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, accompanied by thousands of pilgrims, cropped along the 6 km of road. Its people. The most fragile and young people on top of the heart. Francesco has already traveled that stretch of Rome on March 15, 2020, in full Covid epidemic. He walked alone in a deserted city to pray to Santa Maria Maggiore, like a Pope of other times who tried to stop the evil at the gates.
the funeral procession
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The surprise blitz beyond the Vatican walls were a habit: from an orthopedist in via del Gelsomino for a pair of shoes, from an optician in via del Babuino for glasses, in a record shop at the Pantheon. He felt the need to immerse himself in everyday life. The choice of Santa Maria Maggiore is consequent: not San Pietro, where 112 popes are buried, but a grave in the heart of the city, among ordinary people. Piazza Venezia, via del Corso … The funeral procession will follow the first stretch of the 1960 Olympic marathon. Abebe Bikila, the Ethiopian who won her, explained at the end: “I run barefoot because I hear the voice of the road better”. St. Francis led to the square to feel the voice of God better, in poverty. For this reason, today, at the end of his last, small, marathon, Bergoglio will find a white tomb, naked, with a single word written: Franciscus.
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