The world says goodbye on Saturday, with a funeral of Reyes, Francisco, the “Pope of the poor”, given the expected presence of 200,000 people and dignitaries such as Donald Trump, Javier Milei and Felipe VI.
His burial in the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor de Rom will end at the 12 years of pontificate of the first Latin American Pope, who defended migrants, the environment and social justice tirelessly.
“I have always admired him, he always fought for the entire world,” said Guatemalan Evelyn Villalba, one of the 250,000 people who visited their burning chapel for three days.
After popular fervor, prominence will fall this Saturday in the dozens of presidents, monarchs and prime ministers who come to the funeral mass, especially the American Trump and the Argentine Milei.
Trump praised a “fantastic” man who “loved the world”, but with whom he collided since 2016, for his then promise to erect a wall on the border with Mexico, and for his most recent policy of expelling migrants.
On his first international trip from his return to power in 2025, the White House tenant said he will keep several bilateral meetings in parallel to the funeral, without specifying which.
Milei also highlighted the “goodness and wisdom” of the exarzobispo of Buenos Aires, although in years prior to his election as president, in 2023, the ultra -liberal even insulted him.
Courtship before the Colosseum
The leader of 1.4 billion Catholics in the world died on April 21, at 88, for a stroke, almost a month after leaving a long hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia.
The funeral will begin at 10.00 (8.00 GMT) in the Plaza de San Pedro del Vaticano. Despite the hourly difference, evenings were organized to follow him from his native Argentina, which he never returned as Pope.
His last abode will be 11,000 kilometers away from his neighborhood of Flores, in Buenos Aires. Francisco will become the first pontiff buried outside the Vatican from Leo XIII in 1903.
The Jesuit visited more than 65 countries – Diez in Latin America – during his pontificate. But his last trip will be, within his coffin, through the streets of the eternal city and emblematic places such as the Colosseum.
The authorities estimate that tens of thousands of people could witness the transfer of their mortal remains, behind metal barriers.
The Government imposed an aerial exclusion zone on Rome and deployed anti -Didish units, snipers on the roofs and several combat planes ready to take off.
Despite this funeral of Reyes, his grave will be faithful to the image of simplicity that was worked: marble in the area of northern Italy from where his family proceeded and with “Franciscus” as the only inscription.
“A simple shepherd”
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the first pontiff to adopt the name of Francisco, in tribute to the saint of the poor, when he was chosen on March 13, 2013.
The Pope came “from the end of the world” brought his austere and humble style, which led him to choose a sober apartment instead of the luxurious apostolic palace and invite his homeless people to his table.
Symbol of their legacy, a group of poor, prisoners, migrants and trans people will receive with a white rose the coffin upon arrival in Santa María la Mayor, according to the official agency Vatican News.
“He was a simple and very dear shepherd in his archdiocese, who was traveling everywhere, even on the subway and bus (…) because one felt one more of the town,” says El Rogito, an official obituary that reviews his life.
This was deposited on Friday night inside its wooden coffin, covered with a zinc plate. His black shoes and his inseparable Rosario will also accompany him for eternity.
The fight against pedophilia in the Church and the impulse of a higher role for women and laity are part of their reformist legacy, although he also faced a tough conservative opposition in the institution.
The goodbye to Francisco will give way to the choice of his successor. The conclave to choose it must be called between 15 and 20 days after their death, although the cardinals could do it before, on a date still to fix.