World Bids Farewell to Pilgrim Pope

The body of Pope John Paul II lay in state in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican on April 4, 2005. The body, dressed in papal vestments, was then shifted to St Peter's Basilica for the public to pay homage.

Hundreds of thousands of faithful from around the world filed past the coffin. As the number of the waiting people soared, the queue grew more than two miles, and the wait in the queue for most lasted beyond 24 hours. From the Pope's home country Poland alone, more than two million people came to Rome in a pilgrimage. This prompted the Roman authorities to ask the pilgrims to stay away from Rome because Rome had no more space to accommodate them.

As the Vatican started the papal funeral on April 8, 2005, over two billion people worldwide watched the function telecast live by various television networks. Nearly 200 of the world's leaders attended the funeral. They included presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, princes, and princesses. Almost all of the world's religious leaders made their presence at the funeral function.

The funeral service began with a public Mass celebrated at the St Peter's Square and attended by hundreds of thousands, just similar to the many open-air Holy Masses that the pope himself led at the Vatican and around the world.

The Holy Mass, led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, started at 10 am local time (1:30 pm IST) and lasted about three hours. The pope's body was placed in a simple wooden coffin. As we all heard and watched, the Holy Mass included hymns, psalms and other readings including the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel According to John.

In his homily, Cardinal Ratzinger said that Pope John Paul II was a priest to the end. "Today, we bury his remains as a seed of immortality. Although our hearts are full of sadness now, they are also full of joyful hope in the risen Lord and profound gratitude to God."

Choking up tears, Cardinal Ratzinger pointed to the window where John Paul made his final public appearances, and said: "We can be sure that our beloved pope is standing today at the window of the Father's house, and that he sees us and blesses us."

During the Mass, the crowd chanted "Santo Subito" that means "make saint immediately", a call for sainthood to Pope John Paul II.

At the conclusion of the Mass, there was a song that meant: "May the angels accompany you to heaven; may the martyrs welcome you when you arrive, and lead you to Jesus."

Then the pope's coffin was taken beneath the Vatican to the papal vault where the pope was buried.

The Vatican and Rome's main churches observed nine days of mourning following the Pope's funeral. Then, on April 18, the College of Cardinals went into the conclave to elect a new pope.

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