Homeless man to be buried in Vatican cemetery

February 25, 2015

A homeless man will be buried in a Vatican cemetery, in an unprecedented gesture approved by Pope Francis, Italian media report.

Willy Herteller, a homeless man of Flemish origin, had frequently begged for alms near St. Peter’s basilica. When he failed to appear there in January, a cleric asked after him, and learned that he had died, at the age of 80. The cleric asked for, and received, papal permission for Herteller to be buried in the Teutonic cemetery, adjacent to the Vatican basilica.

 

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Further information:

• Homeless man to get Vatican burial (The Local)