Thousands gathered under a bright Roman sky on Saturday to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, whose humble legacy and global influence were celebrated in a historic Vatican ceremony.
Pope Francis' wooden coffin was carried into St. Peter's Square on Saturday at the start of a funeral Mass attended by a multitude of mourners, including powerful world leaders, clerics, and pilgrims. Applause rang out as the coffin, inlaid with a large cross, was brought out of St. Peter's Basilica and into the sun-filled square by 14 white-gloved pallbearers.
Bells tolled as the last of leaders from more than 150 countries took their places. Dignitaries included U.S. President Donald Trump, who clashed with Francis on numerous occasions over their starkly contrasting positions on immigration. Other notable figures included heads of state from Argentina, France, Gabon, Germany, the Philippines, and Poland, along with European royals and prime ministers from Britain and New Zealand.
The open-air ceremony, which was celebrated by 220 cardinals, 750 bishops, and over 4,000 priests, lasted for 90 minutes. Pope Francis' casket was placed on a carpet in front of the altar, with the book of gospels laid on top, as Vatican choirs sang. Massed ranks of red-robed cardinals sat to one side of the altar, facing rows of black-suited world leaders on the other side, while hundreds of priests in white vestments filled the space in front.
Throughout the week, around 250,000 mourners filed past his body in St. Peter’s Basilica. The pope died on Monday, aged 88, following a stroke. His death marked the start of a meticulously planned period of transition for the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, with ancient rituals and mourning.
Before taking their seats, President Trump and his wife Melania paid their respects to the late pontiff’s coffin in St. Peter's Basilica. The coffin had been sealed shut the previous night. Applause also erupted when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared in the square, though no details were provided on his meeting with President Trump.
The ceremony, presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, was the culmination of days of mourning, as people from across the globe arrived in Rome to pay tribute to the pope.
Pope Francis, the first non-European pope in almost 13 centuries, was known for his efforts to reshape the Roman Catholic Church by championing the poor, calling for action on climate change, and advocating for migrants. His leadership was often marked by his break with traditional papal privileges. Francis chose a simpler funeral, opting for a single zinc-lined wooden coffin and for his final resting place to be outside the Vatican, at St. Mary Major Basilica, some 5.5 kilometers from St. Peter’s.
A simple iron-plated cross, similar to the one he wore during his papacy, hangs above his grave, marked with the Latin inscription "Franciscus."
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