From the Ends of the Earth to the Heart of Rome

By Silvina Pérez Editor-in-Chief of the Spanish edition of L'Osservatore Romano On Saturday, 26 April, Pope Francis bid farewell to Rome and the world for the last time from the vehicle which throughout his Pontificate enabled him to bring joy, consolation and hope to the ends of the earth: his popemobile. Never before had an image — that of a coffin being transported in a popemobile — contained such force and symbolic depth. A single snapshot, silent and solemn, captured the parable of an ending that, mysteriously, restored full meaning to the beginning. The open-top popemobile carrying the Pontiff’s mortal remains moved slowly, escorted by the Italian police. As it passed, the crowds gathered along the streets of Rome broke the silence with loud applause. “Thank you, Francis!”, “Viva il Papa!”, the faithful shouted, as an endless ...