Pope Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday, April 21, at the age of 88 after 12 years as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, was laid to rest on Saturday morning in a solemn ceremony at St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City.
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The funeral Mass was presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, and attended by leaders, dignitaries, refugees, and faithful from around the globe. The Vatican estimated that more than a quarter of a million people gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pay their respects.
Prior to the Mass, uniformed pallbearers carried the Pope’s simple wooden coffin from inside St. Peter’s Basilica, where his body had lain in state, to the square outside. Cardinals lined the basilica’s central aisle in silent homage as the coffin passed by.
In his funeral sermon, Cardinal Re described Pope Francis as a “pope of the people,” renowned for his simplicity, spontaneity, and deep compassion for migrants, refugees, and the marginalized. “He reached out to the most overlooked people in the world,” Re said.
Following the Mass, a modified popemobile carried Francis’ coffin through the streets of Rome toward the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he had requested to be buried. Church bells tolled across the city, and around 150,000 people lined the 3.5-mile procession route to offer their final goodbyes.
Refugees and prisoners, holding white roses, gathered on the steps of Santa Maria Maggiore to welcome the procession. The interment service began with a Latin antiphonal chant of Jesus’ words from John 11:25–26: “I am the resurrection and the life.”
In a moment of deep reverence, the coffin paused in front of the sacred icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani, a symbol of profound personal devotion for Pope Francis. His final resting place, as per his wishes, is marked simply with the name “Franciscus,” near the revered icon and the altar dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. The interment concluded with the traditional hymn “Regina Caeli,” in honor of Mary.
Before the funeral Mass, key diplomatic interactions also took place. United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly held a private meeting inside the Vatican, discussing critical international issues. Both leaders also met with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, underscoring the global significance of the day.
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