On Easter Monday, Pope Francis passed away. His passing is mourned by the University of Dallas, and UD students in Rome have been given a unique opportunity to witness something historic. Not only were many Spring Rome students able to see him in his last public appearance on Easter Sunday, but many of the same students were able to witness the Rite of Translation of his body into St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as the papal funeral.
The Rite of Translation is the procession to move the body of a pontiff or other holy person from one place to another. The papal Rite of Translation took place on Wednesday, Apr. 23, processing from Casa Santa Marta, the place where Pope Francis both lived and passed away, through St. Peter’s Square and into the basilica.
Throngs of people attempted to get into St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday morning, in hopes of seeing the procession of priests, bishops and cardinals accompanying Pope Francis’ body into the basilica.
Emma Hunter, sophomore theology major, was able to witness this procession. She said, “It was an interesting experience because, three days prior, we had seen the pope come out alive through the arch, and, three days later, we saw his casket coming out of the same arch that he had come out of in the pope mobile.”
The papal funeral happened 3 days later, on Apr. 26. During the days between the translation and the funeral, students were able to pay respects to the body of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica. Many students waited in line at St. Peter’s for up to four hours to be able to venerate the Pope’s body.
Bruce Bowen, sophomore classics and English double major, said, “It was one of those things where you don’t realize what you’re waiting for, but when we got to the porch of St. Peter’s, it got quieter as we were entering the church.”
According to Bowen, the experience was a special one.
“It was really sad because there were a lot of people there who were just tourists and didn’t realize the gravity of the situation,” said Bowen. “But getting to stand there and pray for him and for the future of the Church that close to him was pretty incredible.”
Max Nottingham, sophomore classical philology and history double major, was also able to venerate Pope Francis’ body. He said, “It was a really unique experience being able to be three feet away from Pope Francis’ body and to pray there for a bit.”
In preparation for the funeral, and in hopes of getting some seats, about 30 students spent the night outside St. Peter’s. Bowen and Nottingham were a part of this group.
“We finally found a spot and were able to settle there at 3 a.m.. The gate opened at 6:30 a.m., and it really filled up, and we were able to get seats for the Mass,” said Nottingham.
Some students who didn’t spend the night in the city itself were still able to make it to the funeral. Joe Teson, sophomore philosophy major, said, “Some of us were very lucky to not have camped out but to have gotten into St. Peter’s square. It was really cool getting to witness the whole church coming together for Pope Francis’ funeral.”
The funeral itself was said by Cardinal Ferrell, the acting head of the Vatican while the Holy See is in the period of sede vacante. Along with the presence of around 250 cardinals, many other bishops from different rites of the Catholic Church were there, displaying the universality of the Church.
Following the funeral, a dozen students have decided to stay after the semester for the duration of the conclave scheduled to start on May 7. Hunter, Bowen, Nottingham and Teson are all a part of this group of students.
Bowen said, “It was kind of providential because my family planned on visiting already, and we had planned some day trips outside of Rome to different places in Italy, and now I think I’ve fully decided to not go to those and just stay in the city to see the new pope.”
Beatrice Ellison, sophomore English major, is also planning to stay. She said, “I’ve ended up extending my stay, as have a few others, on really short notice. Things have been really crazy. They’ve been changing a lot.”
In this Jubilee of Hope and as the Church continues in this period of sede vacante, we continue to keep both the late Pope Francis and the college of cardinals in our prayers.