While hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Vatican City for Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday, some South Florida Catholics who couldn’t make it went to the Cathedral of St. Mary for a Vigil Mass.
People from all over South Florida joined the Archdiocese of Miami to pray for Pope Francis, who died Monday at the age of 88.
South Florida mourns and honors the late pope
While the pope was buried in Italy, people from all over the world are feeling a great sense of loss with his passing. Many felt like they lost a family member.
“The death of the pope is really a sad occasion, but at the same time, he contributed so much,” said Isabella Fallon.
Fallon is one of many Catholics to mourn the death of Pope Francis. She said she woke up at 4 a.m. to watch the funeral and seeing the nearly 250,000 people in attendance was moving.
“He was looking for unity,” she said. “For everyone together, regardless of the different opinions and it proves it.”
And Fallon’s not alone: Many people attending St. Mary’s Vigil Mass in Miami spoke about the lasting impression Pope Francis had on them as individuals.
“That was the first week he became the pope, and he was passing by and I have a picture at the Vatican,” said Marie Joseph, who saw him in 2013. “He was passing by and then he blessed everyone.”
Every pew in the cathedral was filled as people grieved for the late pope.
“I think he’s one of the popes we could all respect for choosing different cultural topics to deal with,” said Courtney Harding.
A photo of Pope Francis surrounded by lilies sat at the front of the Cathedral of St. Mary as church members carried out traditions done for hundreds of years.
CBS News Miami spoke with Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, who said the loss of Pope Francis is being felt by everyone, not just Catholics.
“The pope is the leader of a billion Catholics, and he’s a man of great moral influence. And, he doesn’t have any military weapons, but he has moral weapons and weapons of the Gospel and of truth,” he said. “And he has wielded them courageously.”
As part of a tradition after a pope dies, Catholic churches will have black draping hanging at the entrance. Once a new pope is picked, they will change that draping to white and gold.
When will there be a new pope?
After Pope Francis’ funeral, nine days of mourning began, called the Novemdiales.
Eligible cardinals under the age of 80 — currently a group of about 135 — will gather in Rome to prepare for the papal conclave, the centuries-old process to select the next pope. The conclave usually begins around two weeks after a pope’s death, so in this case, likely in early May.
During the conclave, eligible cardinals will isolate themselves and, behind closed doors in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, they will cast ballots for their choice, repeating the process until a candidate receives a two-thirds-plus-one majority. The ballots, which are paper, are burned after each round of voting.
If no choice has been reached, the ballots from that round send up black smoke from the chimney as they burn. When a new pope is finally selected, a cloud of white smoke is sent up to signal the momentous news to the world.
