Papal Funeral 'Very Beautiful, Very Simple', Cardinal Dew Says

Cardinal John Dew says he had a great sense of gratitude for the life and ministry of Pope Francis as he participated in the papal funeral in St Peter’s Square on Saturday.

Cardinal Dew, the former Archbishop of Wellington, was among more than 200 cardinals gathered with about 250,000 mourners around the square – and up to 1 million across Rome – to pray for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul.

As he prayed with that great number, Cardinal Dew reflected on his own emotions.

“I think for me, there was this deep gratitude for what Pope Francis has done for the Church in the 12 years that he was the Pontiff – and for the world,” he said.

“It’s very emotional to think of that, too, that he's had such an effect on the world.”

That effect had been evident when Cardinal Dew was waiting for the papal funeral to start. He was in St Peter’s Basilica as heads of state were among the last to pay their respects to Pope Francis before the Mass.

“From where I was sitting, you could look across and see President Macron and President Zelensky and President Trump, sitting near each other. It’s incredible to have all these people in the same place,” he described.

Cardinal Dew said the Mass itself was “very beautifully done, very simply done”, allowing the diversity of the Church to be seen through prayer, language and music.

“The silence, too, at times, was amazing,” he said. “There were thousands and thousands of people there, but just before we sung the litany of the saints, there was this absolute silence.”

That silence had been juxtaposed during Cardinal Dew’s time in Rome when walking the streets he would hear chants of “Papa Francesco” as people expressed their love and admiration for the late Pope.

He said that love, which has also been shown to other Popes, underlines the ideas that Catholics see their leader as a father figure.

Cardinal Dew was also struck by something not many people would have seen. When Pope Francis’ body arrived at the Basilica of St Mary Major after the funeral, he was met by a group of people his pontificate had emphasised: refugees, prisoners, the poor.

“This wasn’t something that was happening on the sidelines; this was an official part of the proceedings,” Cardinal Dew said.

The work of the College of Cardinals will now shift to two main focus areas: Prayer and conversation.

Daily memorial Masses for Pope Francis will be celebrated until next Sunday. The cardinals will also be meeting for general congregations, during which time the disparate group of men will get to know each other better.

“These will be opportunities for conversations, for people to describe the kind of person that they believe would be the right person to lead the Church, the qualities that are needed,” Cardinal Dew said.

“We will also be talking about what's needed in the Church today and what's needed in the world today, because there's no doubt that the Pope is a world leader as well.”

Cardinal Dew said personal and communal prayer will be critical alongside those discussions.

Before leaving New Zealand on Wednesday, he mentioned in a video to the Catholic community how the singing of the litany of saints would accompany the cardinals they begin the conclave.

A friend sent him a message, saying they would pray a litany of saints each night for Cardinal Dew and the other cardinals. Others have taken on that practice, too.

Cardinal Dew himself has added a recitation of the litany of saints to his daily prayer. He said if other people would join him in doing so “that would be wonderful”.

“It's very much trying to be prayerful about the whole thing and looking on this as an experience of prayer, which it has to be,” he said.

Cardinal Dew will become the third New Zealander to participate in a conclave when it begins. It cannot start until after the nine-day period of mourning concludes next Sunday.

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