Being in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis was a “real honour and privilege”, a group of friends from the UK and Ireland who travelled to the city to pay homage to him have said.
They described an atmosphere of stillness and quiet sadness as Vatican City came to a standstill in homage to a pontiff dubbed the people’s pope for his particular work with the poor and those most in need.
Friends Chris Knowles and Phil Callaghan booked flights as soon as they heard Francis had died on Easter Monday.
The faithful gather in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)
They had decided when the Pope became ill in recent months that they would make the trip to be there in person to pay their respects.
Mr Callaghan, 33, an anti-poverty worker from Manchester told the PA news agency in Rome: “He’s been a really important figure in our young adult lives and we really felt that we really wanted to have that sense of closeness to him during his final days and during the funeral rites.”
He said the crowds gathered in the city were “astounding” and that “it’s shown just how much Pope Francis meant to people”.
Mr Knowles, from Liverpool, said the atmosphere had been “quite serene but very busy”.
Compared with previous trips to the “vibrant” city, the 37-year-old pastoral worker in the church, said: “There’s a different tone, there’s a stillness, there’s a quiet sadness in the air.”
During his stay in the city he queued twice to see the pontiff’s remains in St Peter’s Basilica, deciding to do it a second time when more friends arrived.
“It’s almost a bit like a pilgrimage,” he said.
“You do it together. So it was the experience that was quite important.”
Their friends, couple Kate Wilkinson and Brian Casey, had been due to visit this weekend anyway but were determined to make it to see the funeral on Saturday.
Ms Wilkinson, a 33-year-old charity chief executive from Manchester, said: “It’s an incredible opportunity to witness history and pray for this just amazing Pope.”
Having seen his remains in the basilica, she said: “I think it’s the most amazing moment of my life to be honest, to be able to see and witness that and be part of that history and to be there right in front of him.”
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She said it was a moment of “real honour and privilege” to be in Rome for the funeral.
She added: “It’s a moment of thanks, of real thanksgiving for all that he has done for me personally. He’s the pope that I grew up with.”
Mr Casey, 41, a historian from Galway, said they both felt it was important to “come here to pay homage to a man that we both have huge respect for and indeed affection for and love for”.
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Describing the mood in the city, he said: “The atmosphere has been one of yes sadness, but also celebration of a life well lived and of a man that has done a huge amount for the world.
“Having this old man being such a very important moral figure in a time of challenge for the world, I think we will miss him as the answer for many problems we have in the world today.”
