They had come from around the world and crammed into St. Peter’s Square to hear Pope Francis deliver an appeal for peace on Easter. A day later, the Vatican announced he was dead.
Tourists and pilgrims who flocked to Rome for Holy Week were dazed with shock at news Monday of the death of Francis, the morning after his open-topped popemobile was driven through crowds cheering “viva il papa!” on Christianity’s holiest day.
Rev. Bachai, a retired priest from the United States who was in Rome for Holy Week, compared the pain of learning of the Pope’s sudden death to a bruise.
“He appeared in public yesterday [Sunday], looked healthy. I was so shocked, and sad of course,” he said.
“It’s very sad,” Ida Marie, who had made the trip from Denmark to Rome, told CBC News. “We were just here yesterday and we saw him alive, and he was smiling, waving. So we were very surprised to hear the news today. It felt like the right thing to do to come back and pay our respects.”
Tourists and pilgrims packed into St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Monday to mourn the death of Pope Francis. Ida Marie, from Denmark, said she was at the square the day before for the pontiff’s traditional Easter blessing and ‘he was smiling, waving. So we were very surprised to hear the news today.’
Sue Rak, visiting Rome from Ghana with her husband and child, said she believed Francis “wanted to meet God.”
“May he rest in peace. He has done well in the world,” she said. “He wanted to protect the weak.”
An atmosphere of mourning gradually filtered over the square as the news sank in with both tourists and Romans who had been enjoying a sun-drenched Easter Monday holiday. At noon, St. Peter’s bells tolled in mourning and a silence descended upon the crowd.
“We saw him here, he was just driven by in the car. It was shocking news this morning,” said Letizia Bartocci, who works in a jewelry shop a short distance from the square.
Francis’s death was a “real surprise” for Sister Alicia Rios, who’s from Mexico.
“I have been blessed to come here and to pray for his soul, for him, and thank him for all he has done for us,” she told CBC News.
While it’s “very sad” to hear of his passing, she added, part of her feels “in a way, also happy, because we knew that he was suffering from his health.
“We just hope that so many people pray for him, and we appreciate all he did for us.”
“This is something that really hits you hard,” said Emanuela Tinari, who is from Rome and was with her boyfriend, Gianmarco Omiccioli. “He was a pope who brought so many people closer to the church.”
Frank Lavis Tourneta, who was visiting from the French island of Corsica, said he was moved to find himself in Rome on the day of the Pope’s death.
“Today I see a sign of the Christian religion that Pope Francis has died today and gone to heaven. I believe that it is a strong sign for the Christian faith today.”
