As soon as the death of Pope Francis was announced, Catholic faithful began flocking to St. Peter’s Square in shock and grief. Only a day earlier, Francis, while looking fragile and in a wheelchair, had blessed a crowd of worshippers from a balcony overlooking the square for Easter Mass.
Now, the crowd stared at the empty balcony as bells tolled for Francis’ death.
“We feel abandoned, alone,” said Marina Magnini, 66, her eyes filled with tears. Mourners held on to the fences in front of St Peter’s basilica in the large courtyard, which was still adorned with flowers placed there for the service the day before. To some, that public appearance made Francis’ death all the more palpable.
“To see him yesterday and to learn today that he was dead was shocking,” said Simona Bernardini Picasso, 60, standing outside the basilica.
Many said they were particularly distraught because Francis’ style of leadership and presence had made him seem particularly accessible. Just on Sunday, he drove among the faithful after the Easter Mass.
“He was one of us, one of the people,” said Maria Teresa Volpi, 80. “He was everyone’s pope.” Alberto Gambino, 57, another mourner, said that because Francis “could have been here, among us, you feel his absence much more.”
Auriea Harvey, 53, an American convert to Catholicism who was baptised by Francis in 2023, said that she particularly appreciated when the pope criticised Trump’s deportation policy.
“He stood up at a moment nobody seemed to speak up,” Harvey said. “I am deeply sad,” she added, saying that Francis’ death “hits me very deeply”.
New York Times News Service