By Giulia Segreti
ROME (Reuters) – Romans cheered, clapped and cried on Saturday as they watched the simple, open-topped, white “pope-mobile” carry Francis’ coffin from the Vatican to his chosen burial place at the heart of the Eternal City.
“When a pope dies, another one is made,” a well-known and rather cynical Roman proverb says, but for many citizens of the Italian capital Pope Francis will be almost irreplaceable.
Under a scorching spring sun, locals and tourists sat on church steps, crammed the pavements and peered out of the windows and balconies as the motorcade passed by.
Pope Francis was not just any pontiff for the citizens of Rome, which he adopted as his home since being elected in 2013 – and which also adopted him.
“He was one of us,” said Giovanna Maialetti, a devout Catholic who was among the thousands of people lining the streets as Francis made his final journey.
Despite coming “from the end of the world”, as the pope said from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on the night he was elected, Francis quickly bonded with his new city, often referring to himself by his lesser-known title, Bishop of Rome.
“Romans loved him. I didn’t care where he was from, he was the pope of us Romans, of the world, of those who believed and even those who didn’t … it felt like he was part of the family,” said 85-year-old Maialetti.
The pope’s body was carried from his funeral outside St. Peter’s to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major) some 5.5 kilometres (3.4 miles) away, where he was laid to rest.
No pope had been buried outside the Vatican for more than a century.
“We are living history. The fact that Francis wanted to cross the city and say goodbye to us shows that he was a simple man, despite everything,” said Ida Di Gioia, a 38-year-old pharmacist whose shop was on the pope’s cortege route.
A LAST PICTURE
As the procession passed famed monuments, including the Colosseum and the Roman Forums, people clutched their phones to grasp one last picture.
Used to zipping around Rome in a small and anonymous car, the pope had never crossed the city in a pope-mobile, which he only used in St. Peter’s Square and on foreign trips.
The cortege was initially expected to be at walking pace, but ended up travelling briskly along the sealed-off road, to the dismay of some well-wishers who had waited for hours.
As the pope-mobile approached St. Mary Major, some pilgrims showered the bare wooden coffin with flowers.
“It is a joy and honour that he picked here to be buried instead of the Vatican, we’ll definitely go to visit him,” said Laura Regoli, the owner of one of the city’s oldest pastry shops, only steps away from St. Mary Major.
In a break from the past, Francis chose the basilica over the Vatican, because of his devotion to Mary, Mother of God. He prayed there before setting off on and returning from each overseas trip.
“Ciao Francesco. It’ll be hard, but let’s hope your successor will be as down to earth as you were,” said Adolfo Pasquali, a taxi driver.
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Gavin Jones and Alexandra Hudson)
