The sun rose high over a packed St. Peter’s Square on the morning of April 26 as more than a quarter of a million people gathered together from all walks of life, from the humble faithful to world leaders, for the funeral of Pope Francis I.
He was a pope among the people, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, said in his homily in Italian. He was attentive to the signs of the times and to the anxieties, sufferings, and hopes of this time of globalization.
The funeral began at 10 a.m. local time, 4 a.m. ET, just outside St. Peter’s Basilica. Cardinal Re was accompanied by various cardinals, patriarchs, and bishops.
An altar was placed just outside the doors of the iconic basilica, with seating areas for Cardinals and dignitaries placed on both sides. At the base of the parvis, a grid of white squares of seated clergy extended in the square to the looker’s left side. Nearly every other space in the square and the Via Della Conciliazione was filled with the faithful.
As pilgrims and politicians alike settled into their places, religious sisters led the entire congregation in recitations of the rosary, while the pontiff’s coffin remained in its place inside, tended to by the Swiss Guard, allowing dignitaries a final chance to give an intimate farewell.
In all, about 250 cardinals were expected to attend the Mass, many of whom would soon be called upon to elect the next pope, as well as scores of bishops, priests, religious brothers and sisters, and hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world.
Also expected to attend, according to the Vatican, were delegations from at least 130 nations and international organizations, including 12 reigning monarchs, 14 heads of government, 55 heads of state, and other officials.
Those leaders included U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania, who celebrated her 55th birthday on Saturday. Argentina President Javier Milei, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were also expected to be in attendance.
Cardinal Re emphasized Pope Francis’s mission to reach the world on a Gospel of Mercy, shaping the church to be a home to all, like a field hospital tending to all.
He specifically touched on the late pontiff’s passion for displaced people, refugees, and immigrants, mentioning his visits to islands in the Mediterranean positioned in dangerous immigration sea routes, and the U.S.-Mexico border.
The cardinal also mentioned Pope Francis’s courageous trip to Iraq, where the ISIS terrorist group had previously dominated, and his missions to the Middle East to support inter-religious dialogue.
Pope Francis often forcefully reminded us that we are part of the same human family, the cardinal said. The pontiff’s insistence that all the world is one people was on display during the Funeral Mass.
While the primary spoken language of the Mass was Italian and the singing language was Latin, the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles was read in English, the second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians was in Spanish, the Gospel Reading from the Gospel of John was in Portuguese, and the prayers of the faithful were to be given in Arabic, French, Chinese, Portuguese, Polish, and German.
Representatives of the Eastern and Oriental Rite churches also lifted up a prayer and a chant for the late pope.
The cardinal concluded his homily by remembering that Pope Francis often ended his speeches and meetings by telling his audience, “Don’t forget to pray for me,” and now he asked the late pontiff to pray for the people he left behind.
Men and women of various cultural, economic, and religious backgrounds bore witness to the liturgy of the Eucharist. Holy Communion was distributed to the masses of faithful, and the proceedings ended with the Rite of Final Commendation, concluding with the Ultimo Commendation and Valedictio—Latin names for the funeral rite’s concluding prayer and farewell, formally entrusting the deceased to God.
Music was provided by the Choir of the Sistine Chapel.
Pope Francis’s coffin was sprinkled with holy water and revered with incense. At the conclusion of the Mass, 14 pallbearers carried the coffin back into and through St. Peter’s Basilica to where a white truck resembling a Dodge pickup was waiting.
The coffin was loaded in the open flat bed, and the police escorted motorcade headed off on its slow journey to the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major. The journey took the late pontiff over the Tiber River, past the Roman Forum and the Coliseum.
At least tens of thousands of faithful lined the route, applauding and cheering as his simple coffin was carried past.
People could be heard cheering “Papa,” the name Italian-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-speaking believers call the Pope. Variations of that cheer, such as “Papa Francesco,” “Grazie, Papa,” and “Viva Papa,” could also be heard.
According to the Vatican, the route follows a path Pope Francis took before and after his 47 apostolic journeys and after his hospital stays to pray before the Virgin Salus Populi Romani Icon.
By direct request of Pope Francis, a group of poor and needy people referred to as “the last ones” will be at the steps of the basilica to pay their respects before his coffin is interred.
Inside the basilica, a tomb between the Pauline Chapel and the Sforza Chapel, close to the Altar of St. Francis, has been prepared to receive him. One of which is dedicated to the Blessed Mother, and the other serves as a place of Eucharistic adoration.
His tomb will also be bookended on either side by places to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The procession into the basilica included members of the Swiss Guard, Dominican Priests, and the College of Cardinals.
Four children laid flowers to the Virgin Salus Populi Romani Icon, in front of which he prayed more than 100 times. Pallbearers faced his coffin toward the icon of St. Mary, mother of Jesus, before moving it to his tomb.
His coffin was set to be placed in the tomb and sprinkled with holy water as participants recited the Regina Cæli prayer.
Afterward, an official act confirming the burial was to be drawn up and read aloud by the notary of the Liberian Chapter, signed by the Cardinal Camerlengo, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations, the Regent of the Papal Household, and the notary.
This is the third papal funeral held by the Vatican in this millennium. The entire ceremony ended shortly after 2 p.m. local time.
Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral in 2023 lasted around two hours, while the 2005 funeral for Pope St. John Paul II lasted about three hours. However, Pope Francis broke from tradition and chose not to be buried within St. Peter’s Basilica.
