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Pope Francis was laid to rest in Rome on Saturday after a Vatican funeral attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners and world leaders, including US President Donald Trump.
Approximately 400,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square and the streets of Rome to pay their respects to the Argentine pontiff, who had led the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics since 2013 and was known for championing the poor.
Following a solemn service held before a hushed crowd, Francis’s simple wooden coffin — reflecting his lifelong humility — was slowly transported to Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore church for a private burial ceremony.
Fourteen white-gloved pallbearers carried the cypress coffin inside, where children placed baskets of flowers at the altar and a choir sang prayers. The marble tomb, inscribed simply with “Franciscus,” now marks the resting place of the Catholic Church’s first Latin American pope.
Over 50 heads of state attended the funeral, including Trump, who also met several leaders inside the basilica, among them Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky — their first meeting since a tense Oval Office encounter in February.
Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, was remembered by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as “a pope among the people, with an open heart,” striving to make the Church more compassionate and inclusive.
Under bright blue skies, the crowd broke into applause as Battista Re praised the pope’s vision of the Church as “a home for all, with its doors always open.”
During his 12-year papacy, Francis sought to shift the Church towards greater inclusivity, a mission that resonated globally.
Tight security measures were enforced for the ceremony, with fighter jets on alert and snipers stationed on rooftops. Red-robed cardinals and purple-hatted bishops sat on one side of St. Peter’s Square, opposite world leaders who gathered to honour Francis. His simple coffin, adorned only with a pale cross, lay in front of the altar.
The funeral marks the beginning of nine days of Vatican mourning. Afterwards, cardinals under the age of 80 will convene to elect a new pope.
Francis’s reforms angered traditionalists, and his outspoken criticism of injustices — from migrant mistreatment to environmental destruction — often unsettled political leaders. Nonetheless, his compassion and approachability earned him widespread affection.
Battista Re recalled Francis’s many efforts to support refugees, from his visit to the migrant island of Lampedusa to celebrating Mass on the US-Mexico border.
Trump, despite previous clashes with Francis over immigration policies, described him as “a good man” who “loved the world.”
On the sidelines of the funeral, Trump held what the White House called a “very productive” meeting with Zelensky. Photographs showed Zelensky speaking with Trump, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron inside the basilica.
Battista Re emphasised Francis’s tireless calls for peace, saying he often urged leaders to “build bridges, not walls” and to pursue honest negotiations to resolve conflicts.
Among the other global leaders present were former US President Joe Biden, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Lebanon’s Joseph Aoun.
Israel, still angered by Francis’s criticism of its actions in Gaza, sent only its Holy See ambassador, while China, which lacks formal ties with the Vatican, did not send any representative.
Francis died of a stroke and heart failure less than a month after leaving the hospital, where he had been treated for pneumonia. Known for his accessibility, Francis relished being among the people, taking selfies, kissing babies, and championing the marginalised.
In his final public act, he delivered an Easter blessing to the world, repeating his lifelong appeal to protect the vulnerable and the oppressed.
Choosing the name Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi, the pope embraced a vision of “a poor Church for the poor” and famously declined to live in the grand papal palace, preferring a Vatican guesthouse.
Catholics worldwide marked the funeral with live events, including in his birthplace, Buenos Aires, where 25-year-old Lara Amado said, “The pope showed us there was another way to live the faith.”
Supporters credit Francis with transforming perceptions of the Church and revitalising faith after years of clerical abuse scandals.
He was seen as a radical by some for reforms such as allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion, welcoming transgender believers, blessing same-sex couples, and refusing to judge gay Catholics.
Yet he remained traditional on issues like abortion, holding firm to longstanding Church doctrine.
