Sawt Falasteen - Myanmar Catholics mourn pope who remembered their plight

But at the front of the pews a portrait of the pontiff remained illuminated by an unseen source -- a backup bulb or an open window keeping the image of his face vivid and bright.

It was a fitting tribute for a faith leader Myanmar Catholics hailed for shining a light on their country in its recent dark and wartorn times.

"Among popes he was the most outspoken on Myanmar," said 44-year-old nun Sister Lucy, one of hundreds packed into Yangon's St Mary's Cathedral as night fell.

"Myanmar Catholics will miss him as the pope who always remembered Myanmar," she told AFP.

- 'People in the peripheries' -

Pope Francis -- who died Monday aged 88 -- was the only Catholic church chief to visit Myanmar, arriving in 2017 as the country was in the midst of a brief democratic experiment.

Since the military snatched back power in a 2021 coup, Myanmar has been plunged into a many-sided civil war which has killed thousands, displaced millions and seen half the population gripped by poverty.

The conflict often fails to register on the international stage. But for Pope Francis it was a regular refrain as he called the world's 1.4 billion Catholics to pray.

"Let us not fail to assist the people of Myanmar," Francis urged in his final sermon on Easter Sunday, recalling both the civil war and last month's magnitude-7.7 earthquake which has killed more than 3,700.

The speech was delivered by an associate because of Francis' faltering health after he was hospitalised for five weeks with double pneumonia.

"He's a man who really cared for those people in the peripheries," Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the Archbishop of Yangon, told AFP after leading prayers and hymns. "He would always listen."

The special service on Tuesday night was held as Myanmar's military said it would extend a ceasefire declared to ease earthquake relief efforts by one more week.

Monitors say fighting has continued despite the truce, with little evidence Pope Francis's calls for harmony have been answered.

"The message that he left and the homework that he left for the Church is to build peace and reconciliation in the country," Cardinal Bo said. "He would say, 'Let's open our hearts to everyone'."

Cardinal Bo, a Myanmar native, has been named among the potential successors to Pope Francis, with the new pontiff due to be picked by a secrecy-shrouded conclave of cardinals in the coming weeks.

"We hope that the one that will be succeeding him will have the same sympathy, care and concern for the people of Myanmar," said Cardinal Bo.

- 'Practiced what he preached' -

Inside the sweltering brickwork of St Mary's a number of worshippers wore souvenir t-shirts from Francis's 2017 visit and one nun used a novelty fan celebrating his trip to dull the heat.

Just inside its doors, floral tributes were presented before preserved items Francis used on his four-day venture in the Southeast Asian country -- a set of vestments, a raised chair, two pillows and a towel.

There are only approximately 700,000 Catholics in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which has a population of over 50 million.

But Francis "asked the other bishops to get out of their comfort zones", according to 50-year-old nun Sister Margarita, in the rush of the last worshippers arriving for the service heralded by clanging church bells.

"No other pope has come to Myanmar but he came," she said. "He practiced what he preached."

R.Halabi--SF-PST