VATICAN CITY, 9 April 2005 — In one of the largest funerals the world has ever seen, Pope John Paul II was laid to rest yesterday among the remains of his predecessors as millions around the world mourned the first global pope.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square cried for the Roman Catholic Church to declare John Paul a saint, weeping, singing and applauding a man who spread his message of peace, restraint and tolerance to all corners of the planet. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a close confidant of the late pope and a possible successor, delivered a homily that traced John Paul’s path from a factory worker in Nazi-occupied Poland to the leader of the world’s one billion Catholics.
“Our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profound gratitude,” Ratzinger said. Usually unflappable, the German-born cardinal choked with emotion.
“Santo! Santo!” the crowd responded, waving banners reading “Santo Subito” — “Immediate Sainthood.”
The dignitaries from 138 countries reflected the extraordinary mix of faiths and cultures that John Paul courted during his 26-year papacy: Orthodox bishops in long black robes, Jews in yarmulkes, Arabs in checkered headscarves, Central Asians in lambskin caps and Western political leaders in dark suits.
Bells tolled as the delegations took their places on red-cushioned wooden seats. US President George W. Bush, accompanied by former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, was the first American president to attend a papal funeral.
The 2 1/2-hour mass began with the Vatican’s Sistine Choir singing the Gregorian chant, “Grant Him Eternal Rest, O Lord.” Cardinals wearing white miters walked onto the square, the wind rippling their red vestments.
Ratzinger, who is dean of the College of Cardinals, said John Paul was a “priest to the last” who offered his life for God and his flock, “especially amid the sufferings of his final months.” He was interrupted by applause at least 10 times.
The mass ended with cardinals, dignitaries and pilgrims alike standing and singing: “May the angels accompany you into heaven, may the martyrs welcome you when you arrive.”
Twelve white-gloved pallbearers carried John Paul’s simple cypress coffin, adorned with a cross and an “M” for Mary, back into St. Peter’s Basilica, where it was nested inside a second casket of zinc and a third of walnut.
In a spontaneous gesture of respect, the gathered cardinals standing along the aisles removed their “zucchettos,” or skull caps as the coffin went by.
