The nuns entered Ave Maria, first softly and then louder, as though to reassure those who joined in fearfully.
They followed the line for Pope Francis’s lying-in-state, occasionally shifted a few inches ahead. Their white veils gleamed beneath their big sun hats as they sang, their faces shifting to St. Peter’s Basilica on their left.
St. Peter’s Square was the focal point of the Catholic university, and Rome appeared to restore its status as the “capital of the world” during this remarkable week.
