(OSV News) -- From Rome to the Rio Grande, Americans witnessed Pope Francis' funeral liturgy in person or broadcast live over the television and internet, joining their prayers with those of the universal church in a Mass of simple splendor -- one that drew an estimated quarter of a million people to St. Peter's Square.
"The world tuned in for this beautiful moment," Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia said, speaking to OSV News from Rome shortly after the liturgy's conclusion.
Like many of the tens of thousands in Rome, the archbishop and close to 100 archdiocesan pilgrims had initially prepared for a journey centered on the planned 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 Church.
With Pope Francis' death on April 21, Blessed Carlo's canonization was suspended by the Vatican, although the April 27 Mass for the close of the April 25-27 Jubilee of Teenagers would still be celebrated.
For Archbishop Pérez, being in St. Peter's Square evoked memories of being "many times at Wednesday audiences" with Pope Francis. He recalled presenting a delegation of young people to the pope in 2022, and taking a selfie together with the pontiff.
"He was so gracious to them," Archbishop Pérez said, noting "there was a sadness" in the realization that Pope Francis "won't be doing that anymore." He said the "throngs of youth" and young adults on hand at the funeral gave the appearance of a "mini World Youth Day."
Theresa Evans, a 28-year-old office manager from Levittown, Pennsylvania, told OSV News the funeral Mass and commendation prayers -- which together were offered in Latin, English, Spanish and Greek -- "felt like one, true, apostolic church that transcends cultures."
A number of those present were stirred by the litany, said Vincent LeVien, director of external affairs at DeSales Media Group in Brooklyn, New York.
LeVien, who along with his wife and two children was seated among the families of the Vatican's Swiss Guards, told OSV News, "When they were singing the litany of the saints ... a lot of people were getting emotional."
Archbishop Pérez noted the liturgy's inclusion of a prayer taken from the funeral office of the Byzantine liturgy -- chanted in Greek by patriarchs from several of the 23 Eastern Catholic churches that, with the Latin Catholic Church led by the Bishop of Rome, form the global Catholic Church -- was a "very beautiful, beautiful moment" that showed "church breathes with two lungs, (the) East and West."
For Bernardo Gonzalez, another sound was memorable -- the applause that broke out when Pope Francis' casket was laid before the high altar.
"It must have lasted -- I don't know how many minutes," said Gonzalez, director of tour management for Virginia-based ProRome Tours. He said they were "applauding a man who gave his life in service of the church." He added, "That's the beauty of the papacy: a man who is just a man -- who has his mistakes, who has fallen just like the rest of us -- but somebody who the Holy Spirit has selected to guide the church."
Gonzalez also pointed to the homily by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, who presided over the papal funeral Mass.
"You could tell he had a very deep, very personal relationship with the pope," said Gonzalez, adding the cardinal addressed the throngs in St. Peter's Square "as if he were speaking to a small room of people about a very, very close friend."
A sense of intimacy and joy was felt even among pilgrims who were unable to access the square due to the sheer volume of people and the security measures in place.
Mary Bea Damico -- who had traveled to Rome amid a family "whirlwind tour" of Italy, expecting to attend the Acutis canonization -- said she was staying "just outside" the Vatican, with security constraints and crowds making it "impossible to move anywhere." As a result, the family group ended up walking "for hours" around the perimeter of St. Peter's.
"We wanted to be close to it," said Damico, a board member for the Malvern Retreat Center in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and a driving force behind that organization's Blessed Carlo Acutis Shrine and Center for Eucharistic Encounter.
Her daughter, 28-year-old Sarah Damico, told OSV News that the crowds on the street exuded a "positive energy and a hopeful spirit."
"They maintained that joy," said Damico, who teaches third grade at Sts. Peter and Paul School in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She added the crowd's outlook mirrored Pope Francis' "desire to communicate the love of God for all people … without any boundaries or limitations."
And that love radiated the world over, said Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Rose Patrice Kuhn, who watched the liturgy from McAllen, Texas, where she and women religious from several congregations serve migrants and refugees at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Sister Rose told OSV News Cardinal Re's homily perfectly captured how Pope Francis "loved all the people, the poor, the marginalized ... and all humanity, not just Catholics."
The cloistered Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters of the Convent of Christ the King in Lincoln, Nebraska, told OSV News their contemplative schedule didn't permit them to view the papal funeral live -- they plan to watch a replay at a mutually convenient time for the community -- but they're "praying for Pope Francis," and for the conclave that will soon take place and elect his successor.
Though it marked his passing from this life, in many ways the funeral Mass brought faithful closer to Pope Francis, said Sarah Damico.
"My mom and I were discussing how we didn't understand Pope Francis as much until this trip," she said.
