A time for ‘reflection’ before funeral

When the body of Pope Francis was moved from the simplicity of his home in Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican’s guest house, on Wednesday morning to the opulence of St Peter’s Basilica, another step was taken in the late pope’s final journey.

The Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell supervised that transition as Camerlengo, the Vatican’s caretaker in the absence of a ruling pope.

On Saturday, the Dean of the College of Cardinals will preside at the papal funeral— an event that will be transmitted to the world on television, radio, and a bewildering array of digital platforms.

Between now and then, there is space for reflection as tens of thousands of people make their way to the basilica in hope of a final moment of their own as they stand in silence before the pope’s simple wooden coffin.

I felt a kind of serene calmness descend on Wednesday morning as the body of the pope was carried in procession into St Peter’s Square to the sound of Gregorian chants and a single bell tolling.

It was an intensely beautiful moment as the pope’s family, his brother priests, bishops, and cardinals, accompanied his earthly remains to the church’s principal basilica.

There was an air of mourning, of course, but a sacred joy too — the same atmosphere that has characterised this city since the pope’s death was announced on Easter Monday.

Pope Francis often spoke of the importance of joy. He warned his priests of the danger of losing joy in their lives and becoming sour, as if pickled in vinegar.

His was a papacy of joy, and that will remain a defining feature of his tenure as pope.

He wanted Catholics to embrace the gift of Christian joy, even in the midst of life’s struggles — not a faux smile or a forced happiness, but a recognition that their identity and their future is shaped by a person and a world that transcends this transitory life.

Some have spoken of Rome as a city plunged into grief with the passing of the pope, but that has not been my experience.

When an elderly family member has completed their life’s journey and they have left a substantial and consequential legacy, there is a rightness to death and a place for gratitude and joy.

That is the Rome I have experienced this week.

A city that felt like a family recalling cherished memories and embracing the moment they knew would come with a kind of serenity.

I saw it as I arrived at the airport on Monday, where electronic advertising boards flicked from sales pitches for luxury goods to simple images of Francis, accompanied by a single word that captured the moment: “Grazie” — thank you.

Now, behind the scenes, as that sacred calmness is given space for a few days and the public rituals retreat, the cardinals will talk in private, in whispered conversations, about the future of the church and the world.

Soon, they will have to decide which of their number is best placed and most equipped to meet the challenges they identify.

Eventually, there will be white smoke and the world will know their answer.