In every corner of the world – from the biggest cities to a tiny, remote island – the faithful gathered to mourn John Paul II as he was laid to rest in Rome this morning.
Gazing at oversize TV screens, thousands of Filipinos watched the funeral from the seaside park where the pontiff oversaw the largest audience of his 26-year papacy.
An estimated 4 million people had jammed Manila’s Rizal Park for the pope’s youth Mass in 1995. John Paul had been scheduled to return two years ago, but the long voyage apparently was considered too taxing for his frail health.
“He said goodbye, but in the hearts of Filipinos, he still lives on,” said Bing Saracarpio.
In Poland, the pope’s homeland, sirens in Warsaw announced the start of the Vatican ceremonies.
Some 300,000 people gathered in a vast field in Krakow to watch the funeral.
In the pope’s hometown of Wadowice, some 15,000 people packed the square in front of St. Mary’s Basilica, where he was baptized.
In Mexico City, thousands stayed up all night.
Holding candles and photos of John Paul II, crowds flocked to the Basilica de Guadalupe, Mexico’s holiest shrine, to hear a special Mass and to watch the funeral on giant screens.
“It’s almost like being there in Rome,” said Georgina Vega, a teacher. “Being here with a candle, sharing the warmth with others, transports me there.”
In Paris, an overflow crowd of about 7,000 worshippers filled Notre Dame cathedral. At the Sacre Coeur basilica, about 500 worshippers watched the funeral on two giant screens inside.
Throughout Asia, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs joined Roman Catholics in church services and prayers to honor the pope, who has been highly praised for reaching out to other faiths.
In Tokyo, hundreds of government officials and dignitaries were among an estimated 1,500 Japanese who packed a memorial Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Mourners – some veiled in black, watched the service on a TV screen atop a truck.
In overwhelmingly Buddhist Sri Lanka, where the pope visited in 1995, a private TV station broadcast the funeral live after receiving hundreds of phoned requests.
In Vietnam, hundreds gathered in squares outside main churches, particularly cathedrals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
“I knew Vietnam had a significant Catholic community but I never expected to see them practicing their religion so openly,” said American Jerry Douglas from San Francisco.
In Australia, some 14,000 people filled a cricket ground in Adelaide for a memorial service.
And in Great Britain, Catholic monks living on an island off the west coast of Wales flew in a satellite dish to watch the funeral.
Caldey Abbey, on Caldey Island, is home to about 15 monks of the contemplative Cistercian order, which follows a strict routine of prayer and work throughout the day and observes vows of silence every evening.
With Post Wire Services