“It’s a devastating day in Vatican City,” Hagar said on the video.
Hagar, a councillor with Hastings Highlands and a resident of Maynooth, captured the moment on Monday while visiting the square with her son, Jesse.
The pair were in Rome on the final leg of a three-week trip through Italy, which included a visit to the family farm of Hagar’s late grandfather near Abruzzo.
Early Monday, the Hagars heard rumours on social media that the Pope had passed away, but didn’t realize it was true until they were standing in the courtyard of the Vatican and the bell started to ring.
“We’d been there for 10 minutes already … and then they started ringing the bell, and that’s when we were like, ‘OK, so it is official.’”
Added Hager: “From what I understand, they ring the bell when a pope dies. And Jesse had said that they ring it as many times as their age. So for Pope Francis, it was 88 times. It rang for about 20 minutes.”
Hagar said they were surprised how much business appeared to carry on in Rome.
“It was really unbelievable, because everybody was walking around and everything was normal — just like it had been two or three weeks ago. We were shocked. Everything was still open. There were some news reporters there, not a whole lot, but a few.”
Hagar said everything changed the next day.
“When we went back, there were Policia everywhere. Military too. Hundreds and hundreds of reporters. The police had blocked off areas. You had to go through a certain entrance, they’d check your bag and then let you in. This was on Day 2. It was so bizarre. There were helicopters flying around that day.”
She added that the disruptions have continued.
“Even today — Thursday — three or four days later, they’ve shut down the highway we took to the airport. They closed terminal one at the airport and they’ve cancelled every tour in Vatican City.”
Currently, tens of thousands of people remain in line in Vatican City, in the hopes of viewing the body of Pope Francis, lying in state.
Officials extended viewing hours to accommodate the crowds, estimating that almost 130,000 people have paid tribute.
The pontiff’s coffin will be sealed this evening, in advance of tomorrow’s funeral.
Officials say more than 200,000 people are expected for the service.
