Mourning for Pope Francis: Baden-Württemberg commemorates the Holy Father

Mourning for Pope Francis: Baden-Württemberg commemorates the Holy Father

On April 26, 2025, Pope Francis takes place in Rome, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 after a long illness. The funeral service on St. Peter's Square attracts crowds of believers who express their sympathy. Around 1.4 billion Catholics are mourning around the head of the Catholic Church worldwide.

In Baden-Württemberg, the loss is also very noticeable. All Catholic parishes have shown mourning. The domestic mourning in the Münster, Constance, will sound for ten minutes on Saturday afternoon, and in Biberach the bells have been ringing every noon for a week in honor of the late Pope. Requienes are offered in the large parishes from Rottenburg to Stuttgart as well as in Freiburg and Karlsruhe.

The funeral service in Rome

The funeral service started at 10:00 a.m. with choralals and the rosary prayer. More than 140,000 people gathered on St. Peter's Square and in the surrounding streets, while over 10,000 security forces are in use to ensure the smooth process. The political representatives who take part in the ceremony include Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz from Germany as well as other state guests such as US President Donald Trump and France President Emmanuel Macron.

After the funeral service, Pope Francis' coffin is transferred to the Marienkirche Santa Maria Maggiore. It is the first funeral procession of this kind in more than 100 years and is accompanied by many relatives and friends. The body was laid out in St. Peter's Basilica until Friday evening, where hundreds of thousands had the opportunity to say goodbye to him. The coffin, closed after Catholic rite, is covered with a white silk towel.

act and legacy

Pope Francis, bourgeois Jorge Mario Bergoglio, led the Catholic Church for over 12 years. His grave near the basilica will be simply designed, in the spirit of the late Pope. Inscription and symbolism should remind of the values ​​for which he stood: humanity, compassion and hope. In a high prayer of the funeral service, prayer for his admission to the sky and referred to the resurrection of the dead.

The funeral service is shaped by central Bible texts and prayers. A reading from the history of apostles emphasizes the faith and work of Peter, while the Philipbrief encourages the believing to capture the good. The gospel according to John shows the personal relationship between Jesus and Peter, which conveys delicious admonitions katholisch.de for care and community. Pope Francis is described as a shepherd who has campaigned primarily for the poor and marginalized.

We can expect that the conclave will probably take place to choose a new Pope in early May, with the participation of 133 cardinals entitled to vote. The loss of Pope Francis will be noticeable worldwide, while the Catholics have to adapt to the upcoming changes within the church.

The grief for Pope Francis is continued through numerous memorial services and grief events all over the world. In Bergoglios home country of Argentina in particular, citizens are in grief, and also in the home of Pope John Paul II, his memory is particularly recognized. swr.de and nzz.ch report on the ongoing funeral celebrations and memorial campaigns that underline the influence of Pope Franziskus' on the global Catholic community.