ROME (OSV News) -- Pilgrims of all ages and from around the United States are making what one archbishop called "an absolute pivot," as they find themselves in Rome for a papal funeral, rather than the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis.
"It's really interesting to see," Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia told OSV News. "I think Acutis brought us here, as if the world needed to be here to celebrate Pope Francis' life."
The archbishop said the group of close to 75 pilgrims he's leading are experiencing "a great sense of somberness enveloped in joy."
For months, the group had prepared for an April 23-29 journey centered on the planned April 27 canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the 21st-century Italian teen whose short life was marked by a profound devotion to the Eucharist, a spirit of evangelization and a love for the Catholic Church.
With Pope Francis' death on April 21, Blessed Carlo's canonization was suspended by the Vatican; however, the April 27 Mass for the close of the April 25-27 Jubilee of Teenagers will still be celebrated.
But "no one even blinked" when plans changed, said Marisally Santiago, director of the archdiocese's Office for Ministry with Youth.
"Everyone is in mourning; and at the same time, everyone is happy and joyful to be here and to be able to have this very once-in-a-lifetime experience," she told OSV News April 25, as the group -- whom she described as "a little Catholic family that's traveling around" -- enjoyed a gelato break in Rome.
Leading a group of about 50 pilgrims, Father Simon Esshaki, a Chaldean Catholic priest from the Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle near San Diego, told OSV News April 25 how his group had just paid their respects to Pope Francis on the final day of his lying in state. Walking with their group and posing for photos with them was His Beatitude Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the Chaldean Catholic Church's patriarch, from Iraq.
The group had planned to come for Blessed Carlo's canonization, but instead rearranged their plans to attend the April 26 papal funeral. The following day, the group of young people will attend Sunday Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where Pope Francis will then be entombed, before they continue their pre-planned trip throughout Italy.
Father Esshaki described it as "a once in a lifetime moment for us."
"A lot of our people were very confused, and they were sad that there was going to be no canonization," he said. "But seeing the events that we're able to participate in now is such a beautiful and amazing thing -- that we get to come and bid farewell to Pope Francis, our spiritual father of the church, and to also pray with the church as we await a new pontiff."
The Lynch family -- Jordan and Katie, with their four boys Micah, Jackson, Caleb and James -- from Denver, Colorado, also had planned their trip to Rome for Blessed Carlo's canonization. The turn of events meant they instead spent Friday afternoon waiting in line to see Pope Francis one last time.
"It was a beautiful experience," said Katie Lynch.
Jordan Lynch recounted how coming to Rome on a previous trip and going on the Scavi tour -- the guided tour into the excavations under St. Peter's Basilica, where lie the bones of St. Peter the Apostle, the first pope -- played a big role in his conversion to Catholicism.
"Seeing (then) that the church was truly built where St. Peter was and is, and now to see the succession all the way through Pope Francis, was really powerful," he said. "Then to know that my boys are walking right in front of me and experiencing it with me was very special."
The four boys also enjoyed the visit.
"I've never been in St. Peter's Basilica before, so that was really crazy to me because I've only seen pictures of it, and seeing it up close is really special," said Jackson Lynch, 11. "And then seeing Pope Francis' body was next level. It was hard to believe that this was happening."
Not everyone was pivoting, though. Some were just fortunate.
Daniela Rodriguez, 23, from Inglewood, California, had planned a vacation to Rome with her sister for this week not centered around a Vatican event. The death of the pope changed their experience.
"There's no other sensation like it," Rodriguez told OSV News, after waiting in line for three hours. "It was ethereal. Everyone just really just wanted to pay their respects to the pope because of how amazing he was."
Wrapping up the gelato break, Archbishop Pérez reflected on how Holy Week and the Easter Triduum, with their rapid arc from tears to triumph, provide the model for balancing grief and joy amid the sudden changes of life.
"As Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, (he showed) the only way through it is through it," Archbishop Pérez said. "And what I reflected a lot this past Holy Week was his strength, his boldness, and his courage."
Archbishop Pérez and Santiago noted that their group still intends to continue after the papal funeral to Assisi, Italy, where Blessed Carlo's remains lie encased in glass for public veneration at the Church of St. Mary Major. St. Francis of Assisi, whose name the late pope took upon his election to the papacy in 2013, lies in the town's basilica.
Santiago said the pilgrims are letting God be their tour guide.
"If this is God's will at this moment for us, then we're going to embrace it and enter fully into it," said Santiago.
