Pope Francis was a man of the people.
The 266th pope (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio) made one final appearance April 20 to commemorate Easter Sunday at the Vatican, hours before he died on the morning of April 21 at the age of 88.
Francis blessed an estimated crowd of over 35,000 people at St. Peter’s Square, reciting the customary Urbi et Orbi blessing (Latin for “to the city and the world”) after skipping Easter mass, which was delegated to Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the Associated Press reported.
The Buenos Aires-born leader greeted the crowd by saying, “Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter,” appearing on the balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica for around 20 minutes before surprising those who had gathered for his planned appearance with a ride around the square in the popemobile.
The ride served as his first in the open-topped popemobile since his 38-day hospitalization for double pneumonia, and he made sure to occasionally stop to bless babies, according to the AP.
www.eonline.com
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