蜜芽传媒

In a little over an hour鈥檚 time, world leaders, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, crowds of pilgrims, as well as millions of television viewers around the world will bid farewell to Pope Francis, as his funeral takes place at St Peter鈥檚 in Rome.

The last time there was such a global gathering for a funeral and this level of public interest was in 2022, when the late Queen, Elizabeth II, was laid to rest. At her committal, in St George鈥檚 Chapel, Windsor, the regalia of her office 鈥� the crown, the sceptre, and the orb 鈥� were taken from her coffin and placed on the altar. The burden of office was gone.

Something similar has happened with the death of Pope Francis. The ring he had worn since he was elected pontiff in 2013 was taken from his finger and smashed. It was a dramatic symbol, signifying the end of the onerous responsibilities he carried.

Symbols and signs are all important in Christianity. A phrase frequently used by the Catholic Church of the dead is that they 鈥渉ave gone before us marked with the sign of faith鈥�. This sign refers to baptism, the ceremony of Christian initiation
using water as a symbol of spiritual cleansing. There are other material signs too: the cross that many Christians wear, or the cross made with ash on the forehead at the start of Lent. There will be other signs at Pope Francis鈥� funeral too: people crossing themselves, kneeling in prayer, receiving Holy Communion.

But there鈥檚 an even more profound sign of faith: how a Christian lives, responding to God鈥檚 call. Jesus was quite clear about how to inherit the kingdom of heaven. Serve others, he said: feed the hungry, visit prisoners, offer strangers hospitality. In other words Christians are called to service 鈥� a service of love. The Jesuit religious order, to which Pope Francis belonged, expresses this as a call to the margins of society, being with those dealing with the greatest difficulties of life.

After his funeral, Pope Francis鈥� burial across Rome at the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore will be a much simpler ceremony. Among those attending will be people he previously met, among them prisoners on day release and migrants. Each will carry a white rose, a symbol of respect, to remember a man who tried to live according to the words of Jesus, whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.

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