The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, led on the last road on Pope Francis, along with dozens of leaders

The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, participated in the Vatican along with dozens of world leaders in the funerals Pope Francis, mentioning that he brought “a tribute to the one who always chose the path of good, compassion and solidarity”.

Maia Sandu counted among the leaders who participated in the funerals. Photo: President.md

“Pope Francis was a bridge between people, religions and nations. On behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, I paid tribute to the one who always chose the path of good, compassion and solidarity ”, said Maia Sandu.

Goodbye, Pope Francis!

Presidents, members of the royal family and simple grieving people said goodbye to Pope Francis on April 26 in a solemn funeral ceremony, where a cardinal made a call for the inheritance of the pontiff: the care for migrants, the disadvantaged and the environment to be kept alive, according to “Reuters”.

US President Donald Trump, who had conflicts with the Pope on these topics, stayed with the foreign dignitaries along with Francis's coffin, in the vast Saint Peter market.

On the other hand were the cardinals who will choose Francis's successor in a conclave that will take place next month, deciding whether the new Pope should continue the detected pontiff's initiative for a more open church or give in to conservatives who want a more traditional return.

Pope Francis, who drove the church for 12 years, died on Monday at the age of 88, following a stroke.

“Rich in human heat and deeply sensitive to the challenges of our times, Pope Francis's personality has truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this era.” said Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who presided over the funeral.

In spiritual language, the 91 -year -old cardinal Re transmitted a simple message: it cannot be back. The first Latin American pontiff was “Attention to the signs of time and what the Holy Spirit woke up in the Church,” he said.

Francis repeatedly demanded the cessation of conflicts during his pontificate. His funeral offered an opportunity for Donald Trump, who makes efforts for an agreement to conclude the Russia's war with Ukraine, to meet with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski inside Saint Peter. Applause was heard when Francis's coffin, adorned with a large cross, was brought from basilic to the sun-bathing market by 14 coffin with white gloves, at the beginning of the service.

The Vatican estimated that over 250,000 people participated in the ceremony, filling the market and the surrounding streets. The crowd applauded strongly at the end of the service, when the organizers raised the coffin and bowed it slightly so that more people could see it. The Vatican's aerial views showed a mosaic of colors: black from the gloomy outfits of the world leaders, red from the clothes of the approximately 250 cardinals, the purple worn by some of the 400 bishops and the white worn by the 4,000 priests present.

After the funeral, while the great bells of St. Peter's basil were mourning, the coffin was placed in a convertible papamobil and carried through the heart of Rome to Santa Maria Maggiore. Francis, who often avoided fasting and papal privileges, had asked to be buried there, and not in Saint Peter's basil, being for the first time in more than a century when a pope is buried outside the Vatican. The funeral itself took place in private. The Papamobil left the Vatican through the Perugino Gate, a side entrance that is only a few steps away from Santa Marta, the residence where Francis chose to live, instead of the sumptuous Renaissance apartments in the papal palace. Estimated police crowds in about 150,000 people bordered the 5.5 km route to Santa Maria Maggiore. The scene resembled the numerous walks with the Papamobil that Francis made in his 47 trips in all corners of the world. Some of those in the crowd waved banners, and others threw flowers to the coffin. They shouted “Viva Il Pope” (Live Pope) and “Ciao, Francesco” (goodbye, Francis) while the procession passed by the ancient monuments of Rome, including Colosseum.

Among the other heads of state who participated in the funeral were the presidents from Argentina, France, Gabon, Germany, Philippines and Poland, along with the first-millennies of the Britain and New Zealand, but also many members of the royal families, including the King and Queen of Spain.

The last desire

Francis, the first non-European pope of almost 13 centuries, fought to reshape the church, joining the poor and marginalized, while provoking the rich nations to help migrants and fight climate change.

“Francis has left to all a wonderful testimony of humanity, of holy life and universal paternity.” It is shown in an official summary of his pontificate, written in Latin, seated near his body.

The traditionalists opposed his efforts to make the church more transparent, while his calls for the cessation of conflicts, divisions and wild capitalism have often been left without echo. The pope led his desire for simplicity to the funeral, rewriting the elaborate funeral ritual, spread over several volumes, used previously. He also gave up the papal tradition of the three coffins interconnected from cypress, lead and oak. Instead, it was placed in a single wooden coffin lined with zinc. On his tomb is simply inscribed “Franciscus”, his name in Latin. Above the marble plate is hanging a replica of the simple cross, with iron reinforcements, which he wore around the neck.

The attention will now turn to who his successor could be. The conclave, which takes place in great secret, will probably not start before May 6 and may take a few days until it starts, to allow cardinal to meet in regular meetings, to get to know themselves better and to evaluate the current state of the Church, affected by financial problems and ideological divisions, according to the media.