Thousands of Catholics congregate in the Basilica of San Pedro del Vaticano to give the last goodbye to Pope Francis.
The coffin was installed in the temple this Wednesday, after the initial rituals that followed the death of the pontiff, occurred on Monday morning.
The row of believers advanced constant around the simple coffin. Some knelt or pursued in respect.
Among the attendees was a newly married couple, Luis and Macarena, who told the BBC that they traveled to Rome in the hope of receiving the blessing of Pope Francis: “Pope Francis is a saint and will bless us from heaven,” said Luis.
Francisco’s coffin, which will remain open in the Basilica of San Pedro until next Friday, contains some symbols that we describe below.
1. The Red Casulla
The most notable clothing that Pope Francis’s body has is the red chance.
It is a liturgical tunic that symbolizes both love and compassion and the spilled blood of Christ.
These types of garments are used on important dates of the Catholic tradition, such as Palm Sunday, Good Friday or the Pentecost party.
2. The Pallium
On La Casulla, Francisco carries a white pallium with black embroidered crosses.
It is an ornament that consists of a fabric band about two meters long that the potatoes and other high hierarchs carry on the shoulders in the pontifical masses.
It is tradition that the garment used by the Pope is made by the Benedictine nuns of Santa Cecilia in Rome.
On the canopy also rests a golden piece that represents the nails of Jesus Christ, a piece that is usually included in the papal funerals.
3. The white miter on the head
On the head, Francisco carries a white miter adorned with a golden trim.
It is a high, rigid headdress, used by the Pope and the bishops on solemn and that represents dignity, holiness and papal authority.
Previously, the potatoes carried a tiara that was imposed on the ritual of the coronation of the pontiff and on some special occasions, such as the blessing Urbi et Orbi. Pope Paul VI was the last one who used it in 1963.
4. The silver ring
Francisco’s body lies in his coffin with his hands on the abdomen. On the ring finger of his right hand, the Pope wears a silver ring.
It is a piece that Francisco has used since his time as a bishop of Buenos Aires.
The rituals of the death of a Pope indicate that the fisherman’s ring, which receives a pontiff when he is chosen as a symbol of papal power, must be destroyed to mark the end of his authority over the Catholic Church.
The remains are reused to make the ring of the next Pope. But when Francisco assumed as the 266th Pontiff, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had not died, so a new ring was made.
5. The Rosary
Among his hands, Francisco also carries a rosary, as the potatoes have done at their funerals since Pablo VI.
The one that Francisco carries is a discreet one, with the dozens of black, a silver chain and a small crucifix.
One of the significant changes in the burial of Pope Francis is the coffin.
The coffins used for previous papal burials consisted of three coffins made of cypress, lead and oak, but Francisco asked to be buried in a simple wooden and zinc coffin.
The pontiff also asked to remain in the open coffin for funeral, while other potatoes have been placed resting on cushions on a platform called Catafalco.
In his will, Francisco asked to be buried in a simple niche without ornaments in the papal basilica of Santa María la Mayor de Rome, unlike other potatoes that were buried in the Vatican crypt of the Basilica of San Pedro.
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