In Pictures: Pope Francis' final farewell
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.
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.
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Casket of Pope Francis being sealed, April 25, 2025. (Photo: Vatican Media/Simone Risoluti)
Bells tolled as the last of the leaders from more than 150 countries took their places. Dignitaries included Kenyan President William Ruto, U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as the presidents of Argentina, France, Gabon, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, Poland and Ukraine, together with the prime ministers of Britain and New Zealand, and many European royals.
An aerial view of St Peter's Square during the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, April 26, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi)
The open-air ceremony was celebrated by 220 cardinals, 750 bishops and more than 4,000 other priests.
Members of the clergy share the Sign of Peace during the funeral, April 26, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez)
Members of the clergy gather ahead of the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)
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.
The Book of the Gospel rests on the coffin in St. Peter's Square, April 26, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Remo Casilli)
The pope's casket was placed on a carpet in front of the altar, with the book of gospels laid on top. (Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi)
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 faithful hurried to the Vatican from the early hours, while many camped out to try and secure spots at the front of the crowd for the ceremony.
The Vatican says around 200,000 have turned out for the funeral in St. Peter's Square and the surrounding streets. (Photo: Reuters)
A nun reacts at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Coombs)
"We want to say goodbye because he was a living saint, very humble and simple," said Mary James, a Franciscan nun, who had stayed up overnight to guarantee a good place.
A woman outside the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) in Rome, April 26, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)
A woman holds a statue of a Madonna at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Coombs)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the funeral of Pope Francis. (Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)
French President Emmanuel Macron and his US counterpart Donald Trump in the front row in St. Peter's Square. (Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)
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.
People outside Rome's Sant’Andrea della valle basilica, Pope Francis' burial place on April 26, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Giulia Segreti)
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