An estimated 400,000 people lined the streets of Rome and gathered inside St Peter’s Square for the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican City, marking the culmination of days of mourning.
World leaders and dignitaries from across the globe were among those in attendance.
Francis died on Monday at the age of 88, just a day after he made his final public appearance to offer Easter greetings from a balcony at St Peter’s Basilica.
He became the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church when he replaced the retiring Benedict XVI in 2013. Francis adopted a markedly less formal tone than previous popes in his time as the leader of the Church, underlining his reputation for simplicity and humility.
This simplicity was again evident in the wishes he had for proceedings following his death. He was laid to rest in a simple wooden casket rather than the more elaborate ones used for previous papal burials, made of three nesting coffins made of cypress, lead, and oak.
More than 100 foreign delegations attended the funeral including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
World leaders and European royalty sat alongside rows of bishops and nuns as Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, delivered the final commendation and valediction – a prayer which formally entrusts the Pope to God.
Trump and Zelensky met privately inside St Peter’s Basilica minutes before Pope Francis’ funeral. It was the first time the two leaders had met in person since their televised argument in February that resulted in a deep breach between the two countries.
An estimated 250,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square and the surrounding streets hoping to catch a glimpse of the procession.
After the funeral service, the Pope’s coffin was carried in an armour-plated ‘Popemobile’ through crowd-lined streets, across the River Tiber and past the Colosseum towards the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where Pope Francis requested to be buried.
Although it was a short journey of about 6km (3.75 miles), it is a big change in tradition with Francis becoming the first Pope since Leo XIII, who died in 1903, to be buried outside the Vatican.
Pope Francis made his wishes for a simple burial clear in his will, saying: “The tomb should be in the earth; simple, without special decoration, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.”
Authorities in Rome and the Vatican stepped up security measures this week to deal with the huge numbers flocking to say farewell to Pope Francis.
Swiss guards dressed in striped yellow, blue and red uniforms kept a close eye on proceedings in the Vatican. Often known as “the world’s smallest army”, this 135-strong force has protected the Pope for five centuries.
The Pope’s army hails from Switzerland because during the Middle Ages and Renaissance the Swiss developed a reputation for being among Europe’s best and most reliable mercenary soldiers.
There are some 1.4 billion Catholics across the world, with the majority of them in the Americas – although the Church’s fastest-growing population is in Africa. In Asia, some followed the funeral on TV or joined requiem masses for the Pope.
cardinals to the Vatican to begin the process of electing the next pontiff, known as a conclave.
A nine-day mourning period, known as Novemdiales, will also begin.
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