|
Thousands visit pope's grave
13/04/2005 21:43 - (SA)
Vatican City - Thousands of mourners filed past the grave of Pope John Paul II after the Vatican reopened its grottoes for public viewing on Wednesday, many carrying rosaries and medals they hoped would be blessed by the spirit of a man they already consider a saint.
While the numbers viewing the grave didn't compare to the 3 million pilgrims who descended on Rome last week to view the pope's body and attend his funeral, the emotions were no weaker.
"I felt at total peace. Every hair on my body just stood up," said Catherine Creen, a 60-year-old New Yorker who met John Paul in 2000. "It's the same feeling I had when I saw him alive. He continues to reach out to people in death."
Above ground, cardinals discussed the state of the Roman Catholic Church and prepared for their conclave next week to select John Paul's successor. Italian newspapers reported that support for conservative German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was building among them.
Below, just steps from the traditional gravesite of the apostle Peter, the church's first pope, the faithful paid their respects.
Pilgrims knelt in prayer, some with tears streaming down their faces. Many handed rosaries or religious medals to an usher behind the red rope, who briefly laid the trinkets on the marble before returning them to their owners.
In an apparent effort to avoid the lines that stretched up
to 5km to see the pope's body last week, the ushers kept the crowd moving quickly. Many pilgrims said they didn't even realise they were at the grave until they had already walked past.
"We've been in Rome for three days waiting for this moment, and we felt a little defrauded," said Silvano Loayza, a 61-year-old Peruvian realtor who lives in Tracy, California. "There wasn't even time to pray. The man kept saying, `avanti, avanti, avanti'."
The tomb sits alone in an arched alcove beneath St Peter's Basilica. A rectangular white slab of marble bears his name carved with gold in Latin script: "IOANNES PAULUS PPII" (PP is the Latin abbreviation for pope). It also gives the dates of his 26-year pontificate and has an interlocking X and P, the monogram for Christ.
|
News
