c. 2005 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY _ Cardinals, kings, patriarchs and presidents gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Friday (April 8) for a solemn funeral Mass that honored Pope John Paul II with all the love and liturgical grandeur at the command of the Roman Catholic Church.

Pilgrims in the crowd of 600,000 that packed the square and surrounding streets unfurled banners reading “Santo subito (Saint immediately),” part of a growing movement asking the church to waive the 25-year waiting period before sainthood is considered, and to give him the title of John Paul II the Great.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals and one of John Paul’s most trusted advisers, led 140 crimson-clad cardinals in celebrating the Mass, calling John Paul “our beloved pope.”

John Paul died at the age of 84 on April 2 from septic shock and heart failure after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease and a lingering flu took their toll on the once vigorous and athletic pope.

“None of us can ever forget how in that last Easter Sunday of his life, the Holy Father, marked by suffering, came once more to the window of the Apostolic Palace and one last time gave his blessing urbi et orbi (to the city of Rome and the world),” the cardinal said.

“We can be sure that our beloved pope is standing today at the window of the Father’s house, that he sees us and blesses us.”

Ratzinger, John Paul’s doctrinal watchdog and an oft-mentioned contender to succeed him, recalled the pope’s vigorous youth when he roused Catholics from “a lethargic faith,” as well as “the sufferings of his final months.”

During the Mass, the pope’s cypress coffin lay on an Oriental rug in front of the altar. A book of the Gospels placed on top rustled in the wind. A large Easter candle stood nearby, with ferns _ but no flowers _ as the only altar decoration.

The ceremony reflected two striking aspects of John Paul’s papacy. The Mass was conducted in Latin and Italian, but prayers and readings were offered in English, French, Spanish, Swahili, Filippino, Polish, German, Portuguese and Greek, a reflection of the global nature of John Paul’s reign.

And the “Litany of the Saints,” a prayer to the saints sung by a cantor, included some of the 482 saints named by John Paul, who proclaimed more saints than all his predecessors combined. Prayers also went out to Cyril and Methodius, whom he named co-patrons of Europe, and Charles Borromeo, his namesake. The pope, born in the Polish town of Wadowice, was christened Karol Wojtyla.

Following the 21/2-hour Mass, the body of the third-longest serving pope in church history entered St. Peter’s Basilica for the last time. John Paul was buried “in bare earth,” as he had wished, in the grotto below St. Peter’s. In all, the ceremonies lasted four hours and 20 minutes.

The public rites reached their emotional conclusion when 12 white-gloved pallbearers _ who have the archaic title of “sediari,” or throne-bearers _ carried John Paul’s simple cypress coffin through the red-velvet draped door of the Basilica.

In an affecting gesture, the sediari turned the coffin around at the door so that it faced the square and lifted it for the crowds to say one final goodbye. As the great bell of the basilica tolled, dignitaries and pilgrims continued applauding long after the coffin disappeared from public view.

The pope’s coffin had been closed in a pre-funeral ceremony inside the basilica attended by only 12 prelates and presided over by the cardinal chamberlain, Eduardo Martinez Somalo, who is in charge of church affairs until a new pope is elected by the conclave that opens on April 18.

Two of John Paul’s closest aides, Archbishops Stanislaw Dziwsz, his private secretary, and Piero Marini, the master of papal liturgical ceremonies, laid a silk veil over his face.

A bag of silver and bronze Vatican medallions minted during his reign and a sealed lead tube containing his biography were put in the coffin before it was sealed with red ribbons and placed inside two outer casings of zinc and walnut. A flat, marble marker will bear a cross, the pope’s name, the dates of his birth and death, and his coat of arms.

The funeral was a who’s who of world political and religious leaders. President Bush sat in the second row of dignitaries, the first American president ever to attend a papal funeral. He was behind King Juan Carlos of Spain, two seats down from President Jacques Chirac of France and near British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The Vatican said that some 200 delegations attending included 10 reigning sovereigns, 57 heads of state, 17 heads of government and the heads of the United Nations, European Community and Arab League. Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant churches sent representatives, as did Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu communities.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Coptic Patriarch Stephanos Ghattas of Alexandria sat in places of honor among non-Catholic religious leaders, and Ghattas recited a Byzantine Rite prayer for the dead in Greek.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said John Paul is the only pope buried next to the two women buried in the grotto. The pope’s coffin, placed in the space previously occupied by Pope John XXIII, is to the left of Queen Christina of Sweden and faces Queen Carlotta of Cyprus, buried in the grotto centuries ago.

Among the estimated 4 million pilgrims who have come to Rome since the pope’s death _ standing in line for up to 18 hours to view his body _ were some 1.5 million Poles. A group from his hometown of Wadowice stood behind a banner bearing the town’s name and joined in the cries of “Santo subito.”

“For us he is already a saint,” one of the group said. “Everyone wants him made a saint, us above all.”

The funeral required Italian authorities to launch massive security measures, including mounted missile batteries, fighter-interceptor patrols of Rome’s air space and a 15,000-member security force to guard the dignitaries.

Still, the only security in evidence at the funeral was Swiss Guards in Renaissance uniform holding spears.

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Rome authorities estimated that 1 million people watched the Mass, which was shown on 30 maxi television screens set up around the Vatican, in major piazzas, at the railroad terminal and airport and in the Regina Coeli Prison, which John Paul visited during Holy Year 2000.

The largest crowd, 50,000 people, was at the Tor Vergata university campus on Rome’s southeast fringes, which was turned into a camping ground for pilgrims. Screens also were put up in Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Florence and Naples.

Thousands have been sleeping in grassy spaces in the center of piazzas, in doorways and on the banks of the Tiber River, leaving as much as 30 tons of litter behind them each day.

The Vatican sent a message Friday night thanking the Italian government and the city of Rome for their efficiency “in greeting the millions of pilgrims who arrived in Rome to pay their last respects to John Paul II and participate in his funeral.”

“It was a exceptional event, exceptionally well run,” the message said.

The Vatican gave special thanks to the thousands of volunteers who came from all over Italy to help civil protection and military forces handle the crowds and to the people of Rome for their patience in putting up with disruptions.

KRE/PH END POLK