Nichola Mandil BBC News, Juba South Sudan Presidency Office/Handout Pope Francis went on a historic visit to South Sudan in 2023 South Sudanese leaders should “honour” Pope Francis’ legacy by ending the country’s conflict, the Vatican’s diplomatic representative to the nation has said. “We must try to make concrete in the daily life of South...
The BBC’s religion editor Aleem Maqbool explains why it’s so difficult to guess who will be the next Pope. Read full article at source...
Reuters The late pope was laid to rest at the Santa Maria Maggiore church in a private ceremony following his public funeral on Saturday Images of Pope Francis’ tomb at the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Rome have been released. A single, white rose was pictured lying on the stone tomb that bears the name...
Watch: Key moments from the funeral of Pope Francis Pope Francis has been buried in Rome after a funeral ceremony and procession attended by hundreds of thousands of people and many heads of state. The first South American pontiff passed away on Monday aged 88, marking the end of a 12-year pontificate. As the Italian...
Eve Watson BBC News, South West Jenny Hayward-Jones Jenny Hayward-Jones wanted to attend the funeral and travelled from Totnes 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...
Politicians and royalty joined thousands of mourners as Pope Francis’ funeral was held in St Peter’s Square. Later, huge crowds lined the streets of Rome to watch as the Pope’s coffin was carried in a procession to his final resting place, Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. Video edited by Serene Khalifeh Read full article at source...
Catholic communities across the South West are remembering Pope Francis on the day of his funeral. Pope Francis died at 07:35 local time on Monday after a final public appearance for an Easter Sunday blessing at the Vatican’s St Peter’s Square. His funeral is at 10:00 BST. Canon Mark O’Keeffe, Dean of Plymouth Cathedral, said...
Pope Francis refused to heed advice to slow down in his final few years, preferring to “die with his boots on”, according to a close aide. In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister since 2014, said the Pope was driven to carry on because he knew he had...
Reuters World leaders may be gathering on Saturday to pay their respects to a fellow statesman whose church has more members than their states have citizens. But they may also use the Pope’s funeral as a rare and unexpected opportunity to conduct a little impromptu diplomacy. For it will be one of the largest gatherings...
BBC News correspondent Maryam Moshiri explains why the late Pope Francis won’t be buried in the Vatican, breaking a 100-year-old tradition. Instead, on Saturday he will be buried at one of Rome’s four major basilicas and one of the oldest in the city – the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Read full article at source...
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered its condolences for Pope Francis, four days after his death. An earlier offer of condolences posted on social media by the official state account of Israel had previously been deleted, causing considerable controversy within the country. Israel is also sending a relatively low-level delegation...
Santiago Vanegas BBC News Mundo José Ignacio Bergoglio José Ignacio with his uncle, Jorge Mario To his family, Pope Francis was simply “Jorge Mario” – even during the 12 years that he was pontiff. “When Jorge decided to accept the papacy, he understood his life as he knew it would change forever, and so did...
AP The seat at the Vatican had been vacant for two days when a group of grey-clad nuns stood on St Peter’s Square and started to sing. Softly at first then louder, as if to encourage those who joined in timidly, the nuns broke into Ave Maria. Every so often they shuffled a few inches...
The funeral of Pope Francis will be watched by millions of people across the world, whether they are pilgrims descending on the Vatican City in person or people tuning in at home. The BBC has taken a look back at archive footage of previous Popes’ funerals, as far back as Pope Pius XII in 1958...
Thousands of mourners continue to file through the iconic St Peter’s Basilica, where the late Pope Francis is lying in state. BBC News Correspondent Mark Lowen caught up with one family from New York who described being able to pay their final respects ahead of the Pope’s funeral on Saturday as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”. “We...