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Saturday, April 09, 2005
'Instant' sainthood for Pope sought
VATICAN CITY -- Posters and T-shirts are already declaring it. Pilgrims are pushing it. Even cardinals are backing the swelling popular campaign to declare Pope John Paul II a saint.
Millions gathered in Rome, the largest gathering of the powerful and the humble in modern times, to bid an emotional farewell to the pontiff.
Applause rang out in the wind-whipped square as John Paul's plain cypress coffin, adorned with a cross and an "M" for the Virgin Mary, was brought out from St. Peter's Basilica and placed on a carpet in front of the altar.
Chants of "Santo! Santo!" echoed in the square.
The first non-Italian pope in 455 years was buried at 2:20 p.m. (4:20 p.m. in the Philippines) in the grotto under the basilica.
His tomb will be covered with a flat stone bearing his name and the dates of his birth and death. Pilgrims will eventually be able to visit.
The pope's death on April 2 at age 84 has elicited a remarkable outpouring of affection around the world and brought an estimated four million people to Rome, doubling its population.
Applause
The 2.5-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, their red vestments blowing in the breeze.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, a close confidant of John Paul II and a possible successor, presided at the Mass and referred to him as our "late beloved pope." His homily traced the pontiff's life, from his days as a factory worker in Nazi-occupied Poland to his final days as the head of the world's one billion Catholics.
Interrupted by applause at least 10 times, the usually unflappable German-born Ratzinger choked up as he recalled one of John Paul II's last public appearances-when he blessed the faithful from his studio window on Easter.
"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," he said to applause.
"Today we bury his remains in the earth as a seed of immortality. Our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profound gratitude," Ratzinger said in heavily accented Italian.
Sainthood
He 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."
Ratzinger was interrupted again toward the end of the Mass by several minutes of cheers, rhythmic applause and shouts of "Giovanni Paolo Santo" or "Saint John Paul," from the crowd. The eruption of cheers came right before the Litany of Saints chant, in which the names of the saints are read.
The Mass ended with everyone standing and singing together: "May the angels accompany you into heaven, may the martyrs welcome you when you arrive, and lead you to Holy Jerusalem."
At least 300,000 people filled St. Peter's Square and spilled out onto the wide Via della Conciliazione leading toward the Tiber River.
Millions watched on giant video screens set up across Rome. Banners read "Santo Subito," or "Sainthood Immediately."
In Krakow, Poland, where he had studied for the priesthood, about 800,000 people watched the funeral on three TV screens set up in a field. Many had spent the night around bonfires after a Thursday night Mass drew a million people.
White veil
Before the Mass, there was an intimate ceremony attended only by high-ranking prelates, who placed a pouch of silver and bronze medals and a scrolled account of his life in his coffin.
His longtime private secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, and the master of the liturgical ceremonies, Archbishop Piero Marini, placed a white silk veil over the pope's face before the coffin was closed.
Dziwisz was seen weeping several times during the Mass.
For someone to be canonized a saint, the Vatican must verify two miracles attributed to them, and even then the process can take centuries.
But with millions of people paying homage to John Paul II, the start of Roman Catholicism's saint-making machine seems almost inevitable. (AP)
(April 9, 2005 issue)
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