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Francis Laid To Rest As 400,000 Mourn Pope ‘With An Open Heart’
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2 months agoon
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Editor
…I Drove 16 Hours To Be At The Funeral – 16-year-old Germany Student
Pope Francis was laid to rest in Rome Saturday after a Vatican funeral for the “pope among the people” attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners and world leaders including US President Donald Trump.
Around 400,000 people packed St Peter’s Square and lined the streets in Rome to say goodbye to the Argentine pontiff, a champion of the poor who had led the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics since 2013.
After a solemn funeral in front of hushed crowds, Francis’s plain wooden coffin — a testament to a life of humility — was driven slowly to Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore church, where he will be interred in a private ceremony.
Guatemalan Maria Vicente, 52, holding a rosary in her hands, cried as she watched the coffin being carried into Santa Maria Maggiore, the pope’s favourite Rome church.
“It made me very sad. It’s touching, that he left us like that,” she said.
Fourteen white-gloved pallbearers carried the coffin into the church, as children placed baskets of flowers at the altar and a choir sang prayers.
The marble tomb of the Catholic Church’s first Latin American leader is inscribed with just one word: “Franciscus”, his name in Latin.
More than 50 heads of state were present at the funeral, including Trump — who met several world leaders in a corner of the basilica beforehand, notably Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, in their first face-to-face since their Oval Office clash in February.
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– ‘An open heart’ –
Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, was “a pope among the people, with an open heart”, who strove for a more compassionate, open-minded Catholic Church, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said in his homily.
There was applause from the masses gathered under bright blue skies as he hailed the pope’s “conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open”.
Francis sought to steer the centuries-old Church into a more inclusive direction during his 12-year papacy, and his death prompted a global outpouring of emotion.
Maria Mrula, 28, a student from Germany, said she drove 16 hours to be at the funeral.
“Giving to the poor and being with the poor”, Francis had inspired many, she said.
“The Church is alive,” she said. “It was great being here.”
Italian and Vatican authorities mounted a major security operation for the ceremony, with fighter jets on standby and snipers positioned on roofs surrounding the tiny city state.
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Red-robed cardinals and purple-hatted bishops sat on one side of the altar in St Peter’s Square during the funeral, with world dignitaries sitting opposite.
In front of the altar lay the pope’s simple cypress coffin, inlaid with a pale cross.
– ‘Bridges not walls’ –
The funeral sets off the first of nine days of official Vatican mourning for Francis, who took over following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.
After the mourning, cardinals aged under 80 will gather for the conclave to elect a new pope from among their number.
Many of Francis’s reforms angered traditionalists, while his criticism of injustices, from the treatment of migrants to the damage wrought by global warming, riled many world leaders.
Yet the former archbishop of Buenos Aires’s compassion and charisma earned him global affection and respect.
“His gestures and exhortations in favour of refugees and displaced persons are countless,” Battista Re said.
READ ALSO: Pope Francis Stops Using Oxygen Mask, Vatican Says
He recalled the first trip of Francis’s papacy to Lampedusa, an Italian island that is often the first port of call for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, as well as when the Argentine celebrated mass on the border between Mexico and the US.
Trump’s administration drew the pontiff’s ire for its mass deportation of migrants, but the president has paid tribute to “a good man” who “loved the world”.
Making the first foreign trip of his second term, Trump sat among dozens of leaders from other countries — many of them keen to bend his ear over a trade war he unleashed, among other subjects.
The White House said Saturday that the president had a “very productive” meeting with Zelensky before the funeral.
Kyiv published a photo of the encounter, the two men sitting face to face in red and gold chairs in the basilica, as well as another showing Zelensky huddled with Trump, Britain’s Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
In the homily, Battista Re highlighted Francis’s incessant calls for peace, and said he urged “reason and honest negotiation” in efforts to end conflicts raging around the world.
READ ALSO: Tears, As Jnr. Pope Is Laid To Rest In Enugu
“‘Build bridges, not walls’ was an exhortation he repeated many times,” the cardinal said.
Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden also attended the funeral, alongside UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, and Lebanon’s Joseph Aoun.
Israel — angered by Francis’s criticism of its conduct in Gaza — sent only its Holy See ambassador. China, which does not have formal relations with the Vatican, did not send any representative.
– ‘Brought them together’ –
Italian mourner Francesco Morello, 58, said the homily about peace was a “fitting, strong and beautiful message”.
Of the world leaders gathered, Morello noted: “He could not bring them together in life but he managed in death.”
Francis died of a stroke and heart failure less than a month after he left hospital where he had battled pneumonia for five weeks.
The Church’s 266th pope loved nothing more than being among his flock, taking selfies with the faithful and kissing babies, and made it his mission to visit the peripheries, rather than mainstream centres of Catholicism.
His last public act, the day before his death, was an Easter Sunday blessing of the entire world, ending his papacy as he had begun it — with an appeal to protect the “vulnerable, the marginalised and migrants”.
The Jesuit chose to be named after Saint Francis of Assisi, saying he wanted “a poor Church for the poor”, and living at a Vatican guesthouse rather than the papal palace.
READ ALSO: Junior Pope: Delta Billionaire Clergy Gifts Late Sound Engineer’s Family N10m, Nigerians React
Catholics around the world held events to watch the proceedings live, including in Buenos Aires, where Francis was born Jorge Bergoglio in the poor neighbourhood of Flores in 1936.
“The pope showed us that there was another way to live the faith,” said Lara Amado, 25, in the Argentine capital.
– Refused to judge –
Francis’s admirers credit him with transforming perceptions of the Church and helping revive the faith following decades of clerical sex abuse scandals.
He was considered a radical by some for allowing divorced and remarried believers to receive communion, approving the baptism of transgender believers and blessings for same-sex couples, and refusing to judge gay Catholics.
But he also stuck with some centuries-old dogma, notably holding firm on the Church’s opposition to abortion.
Francis strove for “a Church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world apart”, Battista Re said.
“A Church capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds”.
AFP
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News
Senate Confirms Olubunmi Adetunmbi Chairman Of South-West Development Commission, MD, Others
Published
35 minutes agoon
June 26, 2025By
Editor
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi from Ekiti State as the Chairman of the South-West Development Commission (SWDC).
Also confirmed was Charles Akinola as the Managing Director of the commission, alongside 16 other nominees to serve on the board.
The confirmation followed the presentation and consideration of the report by the Senate Committee on South-West Development Commission, chaired by Senator Yunus Akintunde (APC, Oyo Central).
While presenting the report, Senator Akintunde said: “That the Senate do receive and consider the report of the Committee on the South-West Development Commission on the confirmation of nominations for appointment as Chairman, Managing Director, and Members of the Board of the South-West Development Commission.”
READ ALSO:Senate Confirms Olubunmi Adetunmbi Chairman Of South-West Development Commission, MD, Others
The confirmed board members include:
Bolaji Ariyo
Joseph Olugbenga
Scholastica Omoworare
Olumuyiwa Olabimtan
Ibrahim Olaifa
Kabiru Lakwaya
Abdul Adamu (Retired General)
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Arinola Fagbemi
Ukoha Onyekwere
Howell Ihenacho
Also confirmed were:
Olugbenga Olufehinti – Executive Director, Projects
Tele Ogunjobi – Executive Director, Finance
Funmilayo Tejuosho – Executive Director, Corporate Services
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Fatai Ibikunle – Executive Director, Commercial and Environmental Development
Lateef Ajijola – Executive Director, Social and Human Capital Development
It will be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had last month forwarded the list of nominees to the Senate, requesting their screening and confirmation as members of the SWDC board.
The request was read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary and subsequently referred to the Senate Committee on South-West Development Commission, which was given one week to report back.
With the confirmation, the South-West Development Commission board is now fully constituted and expected to commence work aimed at driving regional development across the six South-West states.
News
NDLEA Seizes 91.768kg Of Cannabis Sativa, Psychotropic Substances In Ebonyi
Published
1 hour agoon
June 26, 2025By
Editor
The Ebonyi Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it recorded a total seizure of 91.768kg of cannabis sativa and psychotropic substances from January to date.
The state Commander, Mr Okechukwu Nkere, disclosed this during a news conference in Abakaliki to commemorate the 2025 United Nations Day against Drug Abuse and Trafficking.
Nkere said that the 2025 celebration, tagged “The Evidence is Clear; Invest in Prevention,” was to advocate, educate and enlighten members of the society to resist the pressure of succumbing to abuse of drugs and illicit substances.
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“The Command also arrested a total of 212 suspects, comprising 169 males and 43 females, for various degrees of complicity in drug-related offenses.
“Within the period, we record a total seizure of 91.768kg of cannabis sativa and psychotropic substances and the conviction of seven persons.
“We successfully treated and rehabilitated seven clients and have 11 persons currently undergoing treatment and rehabilitation, while 83 males and 21 females were provided with brief counselling intervention in our facility,” Nkere said.
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The commander added that the command had also carried out public enlightenment campaigns in schools, communities and religious places across the three senatorial zones in Ebonyi.
He warned the general public, especially the youths, to desist from drug abuse, stating that there was no positive impact of illicit drugs on man and society.
He commended the support from the Ebonyi Government and other stakeholders in the fight against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the state.
News
Senate Confirms Olubunmi Adetunmbi Chairman Of South-West Development Commission, MD, Others
Published
1 hour agoon
June 26, 2025By
Editor
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi from Ekiti State as the Chairman of the South-West Development Commission (SWDC).
Also confirmed was Charles Akinola as the Managing Director of the commission, alongside 16 other nominees to serve on the board.
The confirmation followed the presentation and consideration of the report by the Senate Committee on South-West Development Commission, chaired by Senator Yunus Akintunde (APC, Oyo Central).
While presenting the report, Senator Akintunde said: “That the Senate do receive and consider the report of the Committee on the South-West Development Commission on the confirmation of nominations for appointment as Chairman, Managing Director, and Members of the Board of the South-West Development Commission.”
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The confirmed board members include:
Bolaji Ariyo
Joseph Olugbenga
Scholastica Omoworare
Olumuyiwa Olabimtan
Ibrahim Olaifa
Kabiru Lakwaya
Abdul Adamu (Retired General)
Arinola Fagbemi
Ukoha Onyekwere
Howell Ihenacho
Also confirmed were:
Olugbenga Olufehinti – Executive Director, Projects.
Tele Ogunjobi – Executive Director, Finance
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Funmilayo Tejuosho – Executive Director, Corporate Services
Fatai Ibikunle – Executive Director, Commercial and Environmental Development
Lateef Ajijola – Executive Director, Social and Human Capital Development
It will be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had last month forwarded the list of nominees to the Senate, requesting their screening and confirmation as members of the SWDC board.
The request was read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary and subsequently referred to the Senate Committee on South-West Development Commission, which was given one week to report back.
With the confirmation, the South-West Development Commission board is now fully constituted and expected to commence work aimed at driving regional development across the six South-West states.
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