World Leaders and Roman Catholics from far and wide filled St. Peter’s Square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, bowing their heads to say a final farewell to a pontiff who championed a more inclusive church.
The solemn ceremony, with Gregorian chants and Latin verses reverberating through the piazza, unfolded against a backdrop of geopolitical turmoil and war. The White House said President Trump had met on the sidelines of the service with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and had “a very productive discussion.” It was their first in-person meeting since a fiery argument at the Oval Office in late February.
At the Mass, the pope’s body was placed in a simple wooden coffin before the mourners as a choir sang a psalm. Between the songs, the clerics led prayers in different languages — English, Spanish, Italian — as crowds around the square, some who had waited since dawn, watched the service on large TV screens.
Among those paying their respects were Mr. Trump; former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.; and President Javier Milei of Argentina, where Francis was born. Refugees, for whom Francis advocated throughout his 12-year papacy, also attended the service, as did many young people.
Francis, who died on Monday at 88, last year had approved guidelines to make his funeral a less grand affair than those of his predecessors.
Pope Francis will be laid to rest Saturday at St. Mary Major Basilica, following a funeral Mass at St. Peter’s Square attended by presidents, princes and as many as a quarter-million more.
He will be buried in a private ceremony later Saturday at St. Mary Major Basilica. The tomb was prepared behind a wooden barrier within the basilica that he chose to be near an icon of the Madonna that he revered and often prayed before.
