On Saturday, April 26, About 40 people considered “the last” in society will meet on the steps of the Basilica of Santa María la Mayorin the Roman neighborhood of Esquilino, to pay his last tribute to Pope Francis after the funeral mass in the Basilica of San Pedro, according to the Vatican. The group will be formed by people Poor, homeless, migrants, prisoners and transgender people, who were summoned to symbolically accompany the pontiff in their final path towards burial.
According to the statement of the Holy See, each participant will carry a white rose and fire the Pope on the way to his sepulcher, located between the Pauline chapel – where is the Marian icon of Salus Populi Romani, venerated both by the Romans and by the Pope himself – and the Sforza chapel, within the Liberian Basilica, thus fulfilling the desire expressed in life.
“The poor man occupies a privileged place in the heart of God”he recalled the official note, emphasizing that this option was also always present “in the heart and teaching of the Holy Father, who chose Francisco’s name not to forget it.” Bishop Benoni Ambarus, secretary of the Commission for Migration of the Italian Episcopal Conference and Delegate for Charity initiatives, offered more details to the Vatican media.
Ambarus said that this special farewell arose from an exchange of ideas with Bishop Diego Ravelli, a master of the pontifical liturgical celebrations, to ensure that the presence of the most vulnerable was tangible in the funeral acts. Both agreed to integrate a representation of poor, homeless, migrants, prisoners and disadvantaged families. “The Pope will be received by the mother who loved so much (Salus Populi Romani) and for his favorite children, who will accompany him on this last tour,” said Ambarus.
Among the participants, the assistance of migrants and homeless people who had personal encounters with Francisco throughout their pontificate. Some transgender individuals supported by religious communities will also attend, according to Bishop Ambarus. However, the presence of inmates of the Rebaligia privailIn Rome, he was still subject to confirmation waiting for penitentiary authorizations.
The bishop expressed the deep shock that persists among the inmates who participated with the Pope in the opening of the Holy Door in Rebibbia, one of the symbolic moments of his pontificate. “They feel orphans,” said Ambarus, citing the letters he has received, in which prisoners describe the void after the loss of the pontiff, but also the hope of not being forgotten.
During his pontificate, Francisco promoted numerous concrete support actions to people in need. According to Ambarus, the Pope not only exhorted charity, but contributed personally, in most cases anonymously. Among the outstanding initiatives is the creation, at the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemia, of the Jesús Obrero Divino Fund, endowed with One million euros to help unemployed, workers without papers and people in precariousness in the Diocese of Rome.
Likewise, the Pope financed the transformation of an old clerical house in apartments for poor families and reformed the management of church goods to allocate greater resources to the most vulnerable. “His pontificate is full of concrete gestures in favor of the poor, not only in Rome, but throughout the world”Said Ambarus.
The ceremony in the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor will reveal once again the preferential option for the poor that marked Francisco’s legacy.
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