Pope Francis, the humble pontiff whose acts of inclusiveness, modesty, and mercy rippled through his 12-year papacy, was laid to rest Saturday in a service he deliberately simplified.
Hundreds of thousands of mourners and dozens of world leaders and dignitaries gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the funeral. Following the Mass, Francis' simple wooden coffin, adorned with a large cross, was placed on an open-air popemobile and transported through the streets of Rome, lined by cheering crowds, to the burial site.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, who presided over the funeral, praised Francis during his homily as "a pope among the people, with an open heart toward everyone." He added, "He established direct contact with individuals and peoples, eager to be close to everyone, with a marked attention to those in difficulty, giving himself without measure, especially to the marginalized."
The funeral Mass began with readings from Scripture as white-gloved pallbearers carried Francis' coffin into the square. Applause echoed through the vast crowd while bells tolled in tribute.
Francis, who led the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, died Easter Monday at 88 following a stroke, after weeks of battling respiratory ailments. Just one day earlier, on Easter Sunday, the frail but resolute pope, often called "the people's pope" for his work championing the poor and marginalized, thrilled crowds with an impromptu popemobile outing into St. Peter's Square.
More than a quarter-million people attended the funeral, according to Vatican News. About 250 cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, priests, as well as consecrated religious and lay people, joined Cardinal Re as he delivered the liturgy, the Vatican's news agency reported.
After the service, Francis' coffin was carried by a white Mercedes-Benz popemobile bearing Vatican flags. The motorcade made its way approximately 2.5 miles to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where Francis was set to be buried in a private ceremony later Saturday. Along the route, thousands of onlookers waved and clapped.
Pope Francis' funeral service lasted two hours, notably shorter than Pope John Paul II's three-hour service in 2005.
In his final testament, Francis requested to be buried inside the burial niche between the Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani and the Sforza Chapel within the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, instead of in the traditional Grotto at St. Peter's Basilica. He is the first pope to be laid to rest outside the Vatican in nearly a century.
Among the notable attendees were President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, seated in the front row for the service. According to the Daily Beast, this broke the precedent set at the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II, where non-royal heads of state, including the U.S. president, were seated in the third row behind monarchs. At that event, Catholic royals occupied the front row, followed by non-Catholic royals and then non-royal heads of state, ordered alphabetically by country.
Trump's midnight blue suit stood out against the sea of black-clad mourners.
The funeral drew dozens of world leaders and thousands of visitors from around the world. Security was intense, with about 2,000 local police officers and thousands more from national security forces deployed. Measures included patrols on the Tiber River, drones, snipers, and the closure of streets around the Vatican. Authorities also instituted a no-fly zone over Rome for the week.
Among the world leaders in attendance were Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former U.S. President Joe Biden with his wife, Jill. Some leaders had past clashes with Francis and with each other. Pope Francis had previously called Trump's immigration deportation plans a "disgrace." Before the service, Trump and Melania paid their respects to Francis' sealed coffin inside St. Peter's Basilica.
Zelenskyy and Trump, who had a tense Oval Office meeting in February over efforts to secure a Ukraine-Russia peace deal, briefly met again before the service.
One notable absence was Russian President Vladimir Putin. Although Putin has long portrayed himself as a man of serious faith, he did not attend. The Kremlin cited his absence while noting that Putin is currently subject to an international criminal court arrest warrant over the invasion of Ukraine.
