Tens of thousands of mourners packed St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’s funeral, marking a historic farewell to the 266th leader of the Catholic Church.
Royals, world leaders, cardinals, and everyday worshippers came together to reflect on the late pontiff’s deep connections across all classes and nations.
In line with Francis’s life of simplicity, many traditional, costly rituals were replaced with more modest alternatives.
Around 50,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square, while estimates suggest nearly 200,000 attended the funeral ceremonies overall.
The body of Pope Francis has been lying in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica since his death at age 88 on Easter Monday, allowing thousands to pay their final respects.
Rome and Vatican City remain under heavy security, including a no-fly zone, as the world watches the proceedings.
Among the dignitaries attending were former U.S. presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Security around the Vatican has been significantly heightened to accommodate the influx of global leaders.
Francis’s simple wooden coffin, lined with zinc, was carried into St. Peter’s Square, where 220 cardinals, along with 750 bishops and priests, sat in solemn farewell. It marked another deliberate rejection of the lavishness often seen in previous papal burials.
A series of prayers and readings began the service, with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re leading the Penitential Act, inviting the faithful to confess their sins.
The Liturgy of the Word followed, as part of the traditional Catholic Mass, reflecting on Scripture.
Cardinal Re delivered the homily, praising Pope Francis as a leader who “touched the minds and hearts of people” and stayed “attentive to the signs of the times.” Despite his frailty, Re said, Francis remained dedicated to his mission of service until his final days.
The cardinal described Francis as “a pope among the people,” someone who consistently showed an open heart to all. He also referenced one of Francis’s strongest messages, a call to “build bridges, not walls,” seen as a pointed reminder to some world leaders present.
Francis’s unwavering support for migrants and action against climate change were also highlighted, underscoring key priorities of his papacy.
His emphasis on compassion and social justice resonated deeply with millions around the world.
As the Mass concluded, the Vatican choir sang in Latin, “May the angels lead you into paradise,” a prayer traditionally used to guide the soul of the departed into eternal rest.
The atmosphere in the square was one of solemn reverence and collective mourning.
Following the service, Pope Francis’s body is being taken in a formal procession through the streets of Rome.
He will be laid to rest at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, his favorite church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
In keeping with his wishes outlined in his will, Pope Francis will be buried simply in the ground, without ornate markers, under a stone inscribed only with “Franciscus.”
Prisoners and migrants will help carry him, a final symbol of his life’s mission to serve the forgotten.
