Pope Francis' funeral staged in front of St. Peter's Square

26/4/2025 17:06

Pope Francis' wooden coffin was carried into St. Peter's Square on Saturday at the start of a funeral Mass attended by a multitude of mourners, including powerful world leaders, clerics and pilgrims.



Applause rang out as the coffin, inlaid with a large cross, was brought out of St. Peter's Basilica and into the sun-filled square by 14 white-gloved pallbearers.

Bells tolled as the last of leaders from more than 150 countries took their places. Dignitaries included U.S. President Donald Trump, who clashed with Francis on numerous occasions over their starkly contrasting positions on immigration.



The open-air ceremony, which will be celebrated by 220 cardinals, 750 bishops and more than 4,000 other priests, was due to last 90 minutes.



The pope's casket was placed on a carpet in front of the altar, with the book of gospels laid on top, as the Vatican choirs sang.



Massed ranks of red-robed cardinals sat to one side of the altar, facing rows of black-suited world leaders on the other side. In front of them were hundreds of priests in white vestments and then thousands of ordinary mourners.



The Argentine pope died on Monday, aged 88, following a stroke. His death ushered in a meticulously planned period of transition for the 1.4-billion member Roman Catholic Church, marked by ancient ritual, pomp and mourning.



Over the past three days, around 250,000 people filed past his body, which was laid out in an open coffin before the altar of the cavernous, 16th-century St. Peter's Basilica.