‘I travelled from Devon to go to Pope Francis’ funeral’

A woman from Devon has queued from the early hours of the morning to attend Pope Francis’ funeral in Vatican City.

The funeral and burial took place on Saturday with about 250,000 people in attendance around St Peter’s Square.

Jenny Hayward-Jones, from Totnes, said she had queued since 04:00 BST to pay tribute.

She said it had been a “vibrant atmosphere” with “lots of tears, but also a lot of happiness”.

Ms Hayward-Jones, who works for international development charity, Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), said she had been a “passionate fan” since Pope Francis was elected in 2013.

“I think he’s revolutionised the church of which I’m a member, and changed the world.

“I think he’s been the people’s pastor and a guiding light for the world on so many issues.”

Ms Hayward-Jones said when she heard of his death, she decided she “didn’t live very far from Rome” and wanted to attend his funeral.

“This was so important to me, I needed to go,” she said.

“I booked my ticket and thought, yeah, this is where I have to be.”

Ms Hayward-Jones added: “I was there lining up at 4am to get into a queue and when I arrived there were people in sleeping bags who had camped out overnight.

“It was such a vibrant atmosphere, a lot of tears but also a lot of happiness and a lot of joy about the legacy he had left the church and the world.”