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Pope Francis is being mourned around the world—and in New York—as his body lies in state ahead of Saturday’s funeral at the Vatican. Cardinals and dignitaries, including President Trump and Prince William, are expected to attend. The Holy Father will be moved to St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing beginning tomorrow. FOX 5's Sharon Crowley and Lisa Evers report.
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Holy services taking place here at home and around the world as the Vatican's formal plans start to
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take shape. And we have a team of reporters following those new developments tonight
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Lisa Evers is live at St. Patrick's Cathedral. But let's begin with Sharon Crowley and the latest
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news coming out of the Vatican tonight. Sharon. Yeah, that's right. Here's a live look first of
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St. Peter's Square. You can see there, there are still people, mourners arriving from around the
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world. It's about 11 o'clock at night, local time there. Cardinals and mourners, as we said
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arriving to pay their respects. Now, the funeral, we have learned, will take place on Saturday. The
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Pope will be moved to St. Peter's Basilica for a public viewing, and that starts tomorrow. Today
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we are seeing the first images, though, of the Holy Father's body, showing him in red vestments
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in a simple wooden casket. The Vatican Secretary of State praying over him in the chapel of
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Domus Santa Marta Hotel, where he lived and died. The Vatican News reports that Pope Francis was
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thankful that he was able to greet the faithful in St. Peter's Square on Easter, just a day before
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he died. He initially, I guess, had some doubts given his poor health, but today we learned that
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his personal health care assistant encouraged him to do it, and afterward, Pope Francis reportedly
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said thank you for bringing me back to the square Among the mourners in Vatican City today the Pope second cousin she shared her thoughts at this time
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I felt very much when I heard the news because we are relatives and I never expected such a news
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so suddenly. So I ask God to take him to heaven, and from heaven he will bless us
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like when he was on the earth. Well, Pope Francis's legacy will be his commitment, of course, to helping the poorest of the poor
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During his tenure, he appointed many of the cardinals who will now be choosing his successor
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Dignitaries from around the world will be attending the funeral Saturday, including President Trump and the First Lady, and also Prince William will be there
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Now, here in New York City, a special mass for Pope Francis went on earlier today
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and my colleague Lisa Evers has been there all day. Lisa, Cardinal Dolan celebrating mass there not too long ago
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Not too long ago, Sharon, and let me tell you, there was an outpouring of affection
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and appreciation for Pope Francis here today at St Patrick Cathedral that appreciation and love coming from Catholic New Yorkers as well as visitors who showed up for this Mass to pay tribute to the much pontiff who meant so much to everybody
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Now, St. Patrick's Cathedral was packed with the faithful at the special Mass
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mourning the loss and honoring the legacy of Pope Francis. So many people showed up for the special service led by Timothy Cardinal Dolan
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that the ushers and security allowed the overflow worshipers to stand in the aisles
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Cardinal Dolan spoke of the humility and the example of faith set by Pope Francis
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and how they had forged a special bond during Pope Francis' 2015 visit to New York
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Here's what his eminence told us after the Mass. He was amazed at the size of New York, and he would say to me, well, what are all these buildings
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And I said, they're homes where the people live, Holy Father. And then he would look out at the ecstatic crowds along the road, and he said
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but they all come to see me. They love me. like he was surprised. And I was so happy with that. And to this day, every time I see
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him, he will say, I will never forget my visit to New York
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Now before the mass, several dozen priests participating in the service arrived at the
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cathedral So did many Catholic New Yorkers who had heard about the special mass in their local parishes There were also other visitors and tourists who wanted to take some time to honor the people pope Here what the faithful told us I certainly can make it to the Vatican but I could come
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here as a New York resident and be with the faithful to take part in this eulogy
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It was beautiful. I said it was very nice to celebrate here at St. Patrick's the life of
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the Pope. We were so happy to be here and to remember such an extraordinary man. It was simple
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The homily was very short. He couldn't thank people enough for being there. He embraced all
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the religions of the world, just like Pope Francis did. And it was a meaningful Mass for me
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We have this great love for the Pope. And as Cardinal Dolan said during Mass
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he is a unifying figure. And he is not just in our country, but all over the world
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Now, the doors of the cathedral have remained open today. We have to tell you that we're still seeing a steady stream of people
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both Catholics and non-Catholics, New Yorkers and tourists and visitors from all over the world
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stopping by just to even pause for a moment, have a moment of silence in honor of this great religious leader
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Reporting live from St. Patrick's Cathedral, I'm Lisa Evers, Fox 5 News. Bianca, back to you
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All right, Lisa, thank you for that
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