ROME – Methodist leaders from across the globe attended the funeral of the late Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome, on Saturday, 26 April in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Pope Francis, a leader noted for his ecumenical leadership through encounter, died on Easter Monday, 21 April, at the age of 88, following several months of illness.
Over 30 church and ecumenical delegations were present at the late Pope’s funeral.
The World Methodist Council, the Christian World Communion of Methodist, Wesleyan, and related United/Uniting churches, was represented by four people:
- Bishop Dr. Debra Wallace-Padgett
President of the World Methodist Council - Rev. Dr. Reynaldo Ferreira Leão Neto
General Secretary of the World Methodist Council - Rev. Prof. Edgardo Colón-Emeric
Methodist Co-Chair of the Joint Dialogue Between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church
Chair of the Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations Committee of the World Methodist Council - Rev. Matthew A. Laferty
Representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See
Director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome
Bishop Wallace-Padgett led the World Methodist Council delegation, which was one of only three church delegations headed by a woman.
RELATED: A Lament for the Death of Pope Francis from the World Methodist Council
Along the delegation from the World Methodist Council, two other Methodist clergy were members of other ecumenical delegations. The Rev. Dr. Casely Essamuah, a Ghanaian Methodist, led a small delegation from the Global Christian Forum. The Rev. Sarah Mae Gabuyo, Pastor of Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church in Rome, attended the funeral as a local ecumenical guest of the Catholic Diocese of Rome; Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church is the closest Protestant Church to the Vatican.
It is reported that over 250,000 people attended the funeral, filling both St. Peter’s Square and the surrounding streets. Over 160 government delegations attended the Requiem Mass, with approximately 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs present.
Following the Mass, the late Pope’s remains were buried in the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, the largest church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Photo (left to right): Rev. Gabuyo, Bishop Dr. Wallace-Padgett, Rev. Dr. Neto, Rev. Prof. Colón-Emeric, Rev. Laferty, Rev. Dr. Essamoah
Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome 