Unprecedented funeral brings four million visitors to Rome
By Paddy Agnew in Rome
Irish Times
Apr 08, 2005
Believer and non-believer, rich and poor, world leaders and pilgrims
alike will come together in the Basilica of St Peter in Rome this
morning for the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
Some four million visitors are expected for an unprecedented funeral
that in itself represents a remarkable testimony to the legacy of
a Pope whose charismatic appeal went far beyond the bounds of the
worldwide Roman Catholic family.
Sitting on the right-hand side of the altar on the steps of St Peter’s
will be a galaxy of world leaders, representing at least 100 countries,
including US president Bush, King Abdullah II of Jordan, the secretary
of the Arab League, Amr Mussa, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad,
Iranian president Mohammed Khatami, Palestinian prime minister Abu
Ala, UN secretary general Kofi Annan, European Commission president
Jose Manuel Barroso, Britain’s Prince Charles and prime minister Tony
Blair, Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, in breach of a European Union
travel ban, and many others besides.
Leaders of other religions will include the head of the worldwide
Anglican communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams;
the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I; several
leading figures from Orthodox churches in eastern Europe, the Armenian
church, Lutheran and other Protestant churches and the Chief Rabbinate
director general, Oded Viner.
Representing Ireland will be President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern. Tanaiste Mary Harney and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny
are also attending.
It was disclosed yesterday that in his 15-page testament, Pope John
Paul left no personal possessions. He asked that any personal notes
be burned. The testimony, which reads in parts like a diary of his
thoughts, shows he considered resigning in 2000 after leading the
church into the third millennium after Christ. He also asked that
church leaders in Poland be consulted on his funeral and burial
arrangements but later changed his mind and said his cardinals should
take these decisions themselves.
And so the deacon of the College of Cardinals, the German Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger, one of John Paul II’s closest collaborators, will
preside over this morning’s three-hour ceremony.
Due to start at 10am local time (9am Irish time), the televised
ceremony will for the most part follow the lines of a conventional
funeral mass, even if it will feature some uniquely Vatican
rituals. For example, according to tradition, the Swiss guards will
kneel for the consecration of the host, dipping their halberds
with their right hands and saluting with their left. The service
itself, Ordo Exesequiarum Romani Pontificis, much of it in Latin and
accompanied by Gregorian chant, will end with the Pope’s coffin being
carried into the basilica from the steps by black-clad pallbearers.
Only a few senior Vatican figures, including Cardinal Ratzinger,
will be able to follow the coffin as it moves through the basilica
and then passes through the “door of death”, to the left side of the
main altar, and on down to the crypt.
The Pope will be buried in the traditional three-tiered coffin of
cypress, zinc and walnut, weighing an estimated 406kg (64 stone). In
a short, private ceremony in the basilica prior to the funeral Mass,
a white silk veil will be placed over the Pope’s face while a small
bag of medallions, his papal mitre as well as a “rogito” or funeral
oration, will all be placed in the cypress coffin alongside him. After
the funeral Mass, Pope John Paul II will be buried in the “bare earth”
of the crypt of St Peter’s, close to where John XXIII now lies.
St Peter’s remained open until midnight last night to accommodate those
pilgrims, many of them Poles, who were still arriving in the Holy City.