Thousands of young people from around the world had come to Rome expecting to rejoice this weekend in the canonization of the first millennial saint during the Vatican’s Holy Year. They ended up bidding farewell to Pope Francis instead,

The honor of delivering the first reading at Pope Francis’ funeral Mass on Saturday fell to Kielce Gussie, an American who works as a reporter with Vatican News. It was, she said on social media, “a great way to say goodbye” to the pontiff.