Sister Genevieve Jeanningros, French-Argentine nun, was allowed to break protocol while paying tribute to Pope Francis due to the close bond she had with the late pontiff.
Her act of praying and crying for the late pope at a place near the casket traditionally reserved for cardinals, bishops and priests represented an emotional moment not only for her but for everyone who witnessed it.
Sister Jeanningros, 81, has known Pope Francis from the time he was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
The footage of her prayer, in which she’s seen wiping her tears away with a tissue, has gone viral.
In July, the Pope had personally visited Sister Jeanningros in Ostia, Rome, to acknowledge her longstanding humanitarian work.
The nun has spent 56 years of her life assisting the disadvantaged, especially transgender women from the area of Ostia.
Sister Jeanningros is part of the Little Sisters of Jesus order.
Even when Bergoglio took over as head of the Catholic Church, their friendship remained strong because of their mutual respect and similar ideals.
She would see the pope every Wednesday, occasionally bringing people from the streets to meet him. Pope Francis always welcomed them and spent time with them, inviting them to lunch and offering financial support.
“She approached her friend just like she did every other Wednesday,” one user reflected. “This encounter, however, proved to be different. She arrived to say goodbye, hoping to see him again in eternal life.”
Sister Jeanningros spoke of the emotional moment she prayed for her late friend, saying, “Many people told me: when you go to see the Pope, take us with you. I cried for them too.”
Laura Esquibel, a trans woman from Portugal who had met Pope Francis through sister Jeanningros, said, “I was the first trans woman to shake his hand. I’ve seen him seven times, we had lunch together. I liked him a lot.”
Over 250,000 mourners paid their respects to Pope Francis over a three-day lying-in-state.
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