In the story of Pope Francis’s papacy, the same thread ran through the first and final chapters. On the evening of his election in 2013, he appeared on St Peter’s balcony dressed in plain white – shunning the red papal mozetta – delivering a simple ‘buonasera’ with a shy wave to the rapturous and adoring crowds.
He was a pope among the people from beginning to end
Just as he kept things simple then, he opted for a modest wood coffin today rather than the three-casket option made of cypress, lead and oak. Although popes are usually buried with a new mitre, which costs hundreds of pounds, Francis insisted his current mitre would do just fine. No frills. No fuss. He was, as Cardinal Battista Re said earlier, ‘a pope among the people’ from beginning to end.
Applause rang out as 14 white-gloved pallbearers laid the Pope before the altar this morning in St Peter’s Square, with a Book of the Gospels resting on top.
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