They came for the canonization of a millennial saint. They stayed for Pope Francis’ funeral

By Vanessa Gera

Vatican City (AP) – Thousands of young people around the world had come to Rome waiting for this weekend in the canonization of the first millennium Saint Dering for the Holy Year of the Vatican. They ended up saying goodbye to Pope Francis Insead, with his exuberance giving an edifying tone to the gloomy funeral on Saturday.

“He always said you have to be happy about life, you have to live life in a similar way,” said Marco Falchi, who traveled from his home Perugia with his wife and 11 -year -old son. He and his wife accredit Francis for reliving his spirituality, and appointed his son, Francesco, after him.

The family is also dedicated to the cause of holiness for Carlo Acutis, a young Italian who died in 2006 for leukemia and inspired faith in many young Catholics. They planned their trip to Rome around that.

Acutis’s canonization had been scheduled for the duration of Sunday the first jubilee or adolescents, dedicated to adolescents. He was suspended after Francis’s death on Monday.

Falchi was beaten by the lack of depth mourning at the Pope’s funeral, and is convinced that Francis would have pleased. “Especially this was the jubilee for adolescents, he certainly did not do it because a day of mourning, but wanted a day of joy,” he said.

‘I feel that I grew up with Francis’

There was a clear blue sky on the Plaza de San Pedro. Some people camped the night before to get a good place. Many remained respectful, their folded hands, while they followed the dough on large screens. Radio transmissions in multiple languages ​​were added to the hum of humanity. They applauded when the simple wooden coffin of Francis moved outdoors.

Tens of thousands of faithful Catholics had planned their trips before the death of the Pope.

“I bought my ticket for Carlo,” said Reyes Arribas, a 23 -year -old from Valencia, Spain. “And then, suddenly, Pope Francis died, so I come to the funeral.”

She confessed that although she admired Francis, she felt a closer affinity with her predecessors, San Juan Pablo II and Benedict XVI. However, his feelings for Acutis are very strong. She praised him enthusiastically as “the first saint of young people,” he was immersed in today’s technological world.

Even those who were disappointed by the suspended canonization were thanked that they could celebrate Francis, loved by many for their humility and group by the poor.

“I feel that I grew up with Pope Francis,” said Jessica Naranjo, a 27 -year -old girl from Austin, Texas. “I felt very connected to him in the way he advocated social justice and the environment. This was a great loss for me.”

“I am disappointed that I am here celebrating the life of the Pope instead of celebrating with the Pope,” he said.

Ana Kalen, a 22-year-old medicine student, traveled to Rome for Acutis’s canonization with a group of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“The plans have changed, but we are still very happy to be here for this historical moment,” said Kalen, a Bosnian flag covered with his shoulders. “We are sad for every death. But we believe that Pope Francis is in a better place.”

Francis resonates with young Catholics

After San Juan Pablo II died in 2005, mood was different. The faithful made pilgrimages from their Polish Patria and elsewhere to cry an imposing figure of the twentieth century in a spirit of deep sadness and loss.

Francis had a different style. Duration of his 12 -year papacy, people urged to maintain a sense of humor, and that spirit seemed to guide many participants on Saturday.

Young groups filled the Plaza de San Pedro before the funeral mass. One of a parish in Cassano Maglago in the province of Northern Italy of Varese danced in Circle and sang religious songs.

The Easter season of the Pope’s death filled them with a feeling of peace, said a teenager.

“It’s a good sign,” said Matteo Cozzi, 16. “The death of a Pope in Easter is a sign of hope.”

Originally published: April 26, 2025 at 9:21 pm pdt