Close Menu
WTX News
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Danny Dyer tells daughter Dani to ‘pull her big girl knickers up’ after Strictly
    • Greggs increasing prices tomorrow due to higher employment costs
    • Rock & Roll It podcast Asia Cup 2025 review
    • Mbappé keeps climbing Champions League all-time goal-scoring list
    • A Strictly Come Dancing dark horse has upended the entire competition
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    WTX News
    • Live News
      • US News
      • EU News
      • UK News
      • Politics
      • COVID-19
      • Business
      • Tech zone
    • World news
      • Middle East News
        • UAE News
        • Palestine News
      • Europe
        • Italian News
        • Spanish News
      • Africa news
      • South America
      • North America
      • Asia
    • News Briefings
      • UK News Briefing
      • World News Briefing
      • Live Business News
    • Sports
      • Football News
      • Tennis
      • Women’s Football
    • MY World
      • Climate Change
      • In Review
      • Expose
      • Special Reports
        • Conscience Convoy
        • Rohingya Report
    • Entertainment
      • Insta Talk
      • Royal Family
      • Gaming News
      • TV Shows
      • Streaming
    • Lifestyle
      • Fitness
      • Fashion
      • Cooking recipes
      • Luxury
      • Money Saving Expert
    • Travel
      • Culture
      • Holidays
    • Sign Up
      • Log In
    WTX News
    • Live News
    • World news
    • News Briefings
    • Sports
    • MY World
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Sign Up
    Home - UK News - What WTX News correspondents witnessed at the Pope’s funeral

    What WTX News correspondents witnessed at the Pope’s funeral

    What WTX News correspondents witnessed at the Pope’s funeral

    What WTX News correspondents witnessed at the Pope’s funeral

    • WTX News Editor
    • April 26, 2025
    • 11:43 pm
    • No Comments

    Cliff Notes

    • The funeral of Pope Francis attracted hundreds of thousands, including notable world leaders, with an unexpected mix of solemnity and youthful energy as teenagers engaged in games during the event.
    • Despite anticipated grief, the atmosphere featured moments of celebration and spontaneity, highlighted by applause for President Zelenskyy and a vibrant array of young attendees.
    • Attendees reflected on Pope Francis’s legacy, particularly regarding his emphasis on youth engagement and inclusivity within the Church, raising hopes for a successor who will continue this approach.

    What WTX News correspondents witnessed at the Pope’s funeral | World News

    Hundreds of thousands of Catholics descended on Vatican City for Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday.

    World leaders, including President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were among those who flew in to pay their respects.

    Follow live: Pope Francis funeral service latest updates

    But amid the formal proceedings, correspondents reporting from St Peter’s Square and Rome witnessed the unexpected – from nuns sprinting to secure their place in the queue to teenagers playing Uno as the funeral played out on big screens above them. Here they reflect on the historic day for the Catholic Church and its faithful.

    Adam Parsons, Europe correspondent in Vatican City

    Normally the streets around the Vatican are quiet at this time, dotted with a few rough sleepers and passing security personnel. Not this time.

    Via della Conciliazione is the road that runs from the Tiber all the way up to St Peter’s Square and, before the sun had risen, there were long queues to get through the checkpoint in order to secure a prime viewing location.

    And when the gates were opened, and as more and more people came through, so the rush became greater.

    A trickle became a torrent – first people strolled towards the front, then they jogged and then, eventually, I saw three nuns, sprinting as fast as they could.

    People line the streets outside the Colosseum

    But what I had expected to see in St Peter’s Square was not, in fact, what I did see.

    I thought I’d bear witness to a lot of sobbing and sadness. Instead, in our section of the square, we were surrounded by dozens of teenagers; all affiliated to church youth groups, sitting on the ground and playing Uno.

    They stayed for the day, watching on the big screens along with the rest of the crowd. They applauded, watched patiently and then, when they saw President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, cheered their approval. Nobody, other than the Pope, got a warmer ovation than the Ukrainian president.

    Teenagers among the crowds

    What we didn’t know at the time was that Zelenskyy had just met Donald Trump, not that Trump had had second thoughts about Vladimir Putin’s reliability. But come the end of the service, the news had filtered through.

    So could the funeral have been a catalyst for an outbreak of peace, or at least a step or two in the right direction? As if by providence, at the very moment our team was discussing this, Michelle O’Neill, first minister of Northern Ireland, wandered past.

    “Well that would be some legacy indeed from Pope Francis wouldn’t it? And I hope that’s the case.”

    A banner reading ‘Thank you Francis’ hangs from a building in Rome. Pic: Reuters

    So did she worry that the Catholic Church will choose a more conservative successor to Pope Francis, I ask? Would she rather a Pope who continues Francis’s path of reform and, by comparison with his predecessor, liberal thinking. She nodded, smiling.

    “I think that his legacy is something that we want to be able to carry on. You know, we want him to be a living legacy. I hope the incoming Pope has the same qualities, that same approach to the leadership role they provide.

    “I think Pope Francis is a lesson to so many people in terms of what we need, which is inclusion. What we need is a more unified society.”

    The papal convoy goes by – Live From Rome

    “He left us. He went to the sky,” said Sister Annalisa Serra gesturing upwards.

    “But surely from there he is enjoying seeing us all here since we love him a lot.”

    The sentiment from the nun from Sardinia kind of encapsulated the Pope’s funeral.

    Again and again people told us they felt Pope Francis – who was happiest among the people – would be with them, not the dignitaries, given a choice.

    That’s not to say he wouldn’t have taken the opportunity to speak his mind to the world and the Catholic Church’s most powerful first.

    But, at heart, Francis’s papacy was defined by his connection with ordinary Catholics.

    This weekend was originally billed as a special event in the Catholic calendar with 150,000 youngsters coming to Vatican City from around the world for a youth jubilee.

    Their trips were long planned and they could never have imagined that when the date came their event would be overshadowed by the funeral of Pope Francis.

    But the presence of the young faces gave a really youthful feel to the day – and a sense of unexpected joviality as we witnessed various groups burst into spontaneous song and applause to celebrate the former pontiff’s life.

    A group of young girls clap and sing as they wait for the funeral proceedings

    Pope Francis recognised the importance of listening to the next generation.

    The crowd was an incredible mix of people of all nationalities and backgrounds.

    Part of the Pope’s legacy is the growth of the Catholic Church particularly in countries like the Philippines where it makes up 80% of the population.

    Nuns who travelled to Rome from the Philippines

    Sister Richelle Elena – who is from the Philippines and came to watch Pope Francis’s coffin pass by on the papal vehicle – said: “We call him lolo kiko- our grandfather – and he is very close to us Filipinos because he embodies our values, the importance of families, dialogue, communion.”

    Nicholas Bridges travelled with his pregnant wife Ludovica and their young children from the outskirts of Rome.

    It’s a lot taking a one-year-old and a three-year-old to a public event attracting 400,000 people.

    “It’s an early start but it’s such a historic event we had to come,” said Nicholas.

    Elise Gascon from France wanted to share the moment with her grandparents.

    She said she came so she could tell them what it was like in St Peter’s Square on the day the world’s Catholics said goodbye to their spiritual leader.

    Advertisment
    News Headlines
    Greggs increasing prices tomorrow due to higher employment costs

    Greggs increasing prices tomorrow due to higher employment costs

    Ringleader of Rochdale grooming gang jailed for 35 years

    Ringleader of Rochdale grooming gang jailed for 35 years

    Save 70% on VIP subscription
    News Briefings - the way to a better life
    News Briefings - the way to a better life
    Advert by Sponsors
    More from WTX News
    The latest gaming news - with game reviews and tips and tricks. updated 24 hours a day.
    The latest gaming news
    Hot off the press!
    • Danny Dyer tells daughter Dani to ‘pull her big girl knickers up’ after Strictly October 1, 2025
    • Greggs increasing prices tomorrow due to higher employment costs October 1, 2025
    • Rock & Roll It podcast Asia Cup 2025 review October 1, 2025
    • Mbappé keeps climbing Champions League all-time goal-scoring list October 1, 2025
    • A Strictly Come Dancing dark horse has upended the entire competition October 1, 2025
    WTX News latest breaking news sports and travel
    Latest News and analysis - Deciphering through the BS with exclusive News Briefings
    Facebook X (Twitter) TikTok Instagram

    News

    • World News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • EU News
    • Business
    • Opinions
    • News Briefing
    • Live News

    Company

    • About WTX News
    • Register
    • Advertising
    • Work with us
    • Contact
    • Community
    • GDPR Policy
    • Privacy

    Services

    • Fitness for free
    • Insta Talk
    • How to guides
    • Climate Change
    • In Review
    • Expose
    • NEWS SUMMARY
    • Money Saving Expert

    News delivered to your inbox

    Copyright WTX News 2025

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.