00:00This is a place of pilgrimage for the Christian faith and for those who've come here today.
00:07It's a chance to commemorate the life of Pope Francis in one of Christianity's holiest places.
00:12Definitely having it here is very special because this is the place of the resurrection of Jesus.
00:19His death and resurrection, so for us people of faith, this is where we say death is not the end
00:26because Jesus proved it with his resurrection.
00:29Flanked by Jerusalem's Kavassas, the Ottoman-era ceremonial guards who escort the patriarchs of the Christian churches through the old city,
00:38armed with their wooden and metal staffs, was the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem,
00:42the Holy City's most senior Catholic, Cardinal Pier Battista Pizzaballa,
00:46a man whose name has recently been thrown into the mix as a potential successor to Pope Francis,
00:51presiding over the memorial mass before heading to Rome for the late Pontiff's funeral.
00:56Of course there is great significance in this service being held here at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
01:01where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried.
01:05But at this time, when there is war raging a short distance away in Gaza,
01:10and the Pope had made repeated criticisms of that conflict,
01:13of the bombardment of the Palestinian territory there,
01:17and the unimaginable devastation and destruction which has been wrought there,
01:21his death is being very keenly felt in this region,
01:24not only among Catholics and among Christians,
01:26but the broader population, Palestinians as well,
01:29who saw him as a leader for a region that is so often wrought by turmoil and division.
01:35We as a church, our point of view is to fight or to speak about the justice,
01:45and not only to speak, to live.
01:48The situation in our country is not good.
01:51He was helping the people in Gaza, you know, the war.
01:56This is the most important thing.
01:58Certainly he was courageous. I can tell you, I can see that and it's appreciated.
02:02Not by everybody, that's yes.
02:04For a church steeped in centuries-old tradition,
02:07a service to commemorate a man regularly described as breaking the mould,
02:12for a congregation who will be watching very closely as to who comes next.
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