Pope Francis was laid to rest on Saturday in Rome, where a massive crowd of mourners and world leaders came together to say their final goodbye. The Argentine pontiff, remembered as a “pope among the people,” led the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics from 2013 until his death earlier this week at the age of 88.
Around 400,000 people packed St Peter’s Square and the nearby streets under a bright blue sky. The funeral was marked by solemn prayers and emotional tributes. After the service, his simple wooden coffin was transported slowly through the streets of Rome to the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica — his favorite church — for a private burial ceremony.
Among the crowd was Maria Vicente, a 52-year-old Guatemalan holding a rosary, who tearfully watched the procession. “It made me very sad. It’s touching, that he left us like that,” she said.
The cypress coffin, plain and modest, was carried into the church by fourteen pallbearers. As they moved towards the altar, children placed baskets filled with flowers and a choir filled the basilica with songs of prayer. His final resting place, a marble tomb, bears only one word: “Franciscus.”
More than 50 heads of state attended, including US President Donald Trump, who had a brief meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky inside the basilica before the ceremony. It marked their first face-to-face encounter since a tense Oval Office meeting in February.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, delivering the homily, noted Francis’s reputation as a pope “with an open heart,” committed to a Church open to everyone. Applause broke out as he praised Francis’s conviction that the Church should be “a home with its doors always open.”
Francis was seen as a reformer who tried to guide the ancient institution toward greater inclusivity. His focus on the poor and marginalized left a lasting impression worldwide. Maria Mrula, a 28-year-old student from Germany, said she drove 16 hours to attend. “The Church is alive,” she said. “It was great being here.”
Security was tight, with fighter jets on standby and snipers stationed across rooftops. Red-robed cardinals and purple-hatted bishops gathered at one side of the altar, while world leaders sat across from them. At the center, in front of the altar, rested Francis’s simple coffin, marked only by a pale cross.
The funeral began nine days of mourning for the Vatican. After that period, cardinals under 80 will gather for a conclave to elect a new pope.
Francis’s papacy was not without controversy. His strong positions on issues like the environment, migration, and social justice upset many traditionalists and political leaders. Still, his compassion and personal humility gained him deep respect and admiration globally.
Cardinal Battista Re recalled Francis’s early trips to places like Lampedusa — a key arrival point for migrants — and the US-Mexico border. “His gestures and exhortations in favour of refugees and displaced persons are countless,” he noted.
Trump, whose administration clashed with Francis over immigration policies, still called him “a good man” who “loved the world.” Other leaders like Joe Biden, Antonio Guterres, Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Giorgia Meloni also attended the service.
Israel, upset over Francis’s comments regarding Gaza, sent only its ambassador to the Vatican. China did not send a representative, maintaining its distant relationship with the Holy See.
Among the mourners, Francesco Morello, 58, from Italy, noted how the pope’s death had united many world leaders. “He could not bring them together in life but he managed in death,” he said.
Francis had suffered a stroke and heart failure shortly after battling pneumonia for several weeks. His last public act was an Easter blessing, continuing his lifelong mission to protect the “vulnerable, the marginalised and migrants.”
Choosing the name Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi, the Jesuit pope lived simply in a Vatican guesthouse instead of the official papal apartments. Around the world, Catholics honored his legacy, from Rome to his birthplace in Buenos Aires.
Lara Amado, 25, in the Argentine capital, said, “The pope showed us that there was another way to live the faith.”
Francis’s legacy will be remembered for challenging traditional boundaries. He welcomed divorced and remarried Catholics, blessed same-sex couples, and refused to judge gay believers. Yet he also held firmly to Church teachings on matters like abortion.
In his final tribute, Battista Re said Francis worked for “a Church capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds.”
