Canadians dotted throughout the crowds at St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’s funeral said the somewhat simple ceremony seemed a fitting farewell for the pontiff who saw himself as a pastor, not a monarch.
While those who made it into the plaza in front of the famous basilica described a solemn and reverent audience, complete with dignitaries such as Gov.-Gen. Mary Simon, the masses outside Vatican City’s walls were abuzz.
But in both spaces, mourners said Francis’s vision for the Catholic Church shone through.
“As a Catholic I found it very powerful that the service is so reminiscent of the services that we are familiar with right in Toronto,” said Falguni Debnath, who was with the general public near the back of the square….