Pope Francis was eulogised as a pontiff “among the people, with an open heart towards everyone” during a moving funeral that brought the world to a standstill.
The first South American to lead the Roman Catholic Church was laid to rest on Saturday afternoon following his death last Monday at the age of 88.
Heads of state, royalty and religious leaders joined 400,000 mourners in Vatican City to bid Francis a final farewell after his 12-year papacy.
The crowd erupted into applause as Francis’ wooden casket — marked with a white cross — was carried by pallbearers from the altar of St Peter’s Basilica, where it had lain in state for three days, to St Peter’s Square for the open-air ceremony.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the Prince of Wales and French president Emmanuel Macron were among the foreign dignitaries who attended the solemn day.
There was also a salient encounter between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky on the marble floor of St Peter’s Basilica.
Shortly before the procession, the two men sat on chairs inside the basilica and held a 15-minute meeting just yards from His Holiness.
Mr Zelensky said the conversation had the "potential to become historic", as Mr Trump continues to push for a deal between Russia and Ukraine to end the three-year-long conflict.
No details of the one-to-one were shared, but Professor Father Francesco Giordano — who attended the funeral — told Sky News the meeting had been a "miracle".
"Now Julian is free, we have all come to Rome to express our family’s gratitude for the Pope’s support during Julian’s persecution. Our children and I had the honor of meeting Pope Francis in June 2023 to discuss how to free Julian from Belmarsh prison. Francis wrote to Julian in… pic.twitter.com/1B4iNp31Is
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 26, 2025
Also in attendance for the funeral was Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who spent years holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London before being imprisoned at Belmarsh Prison, and his wife and children.
He said they visited the Italian capital to “express our family’s gratitude for the Pope’s support during Julian’s persecution”.
Other guests included former US president Joe Biden, Argentinian president Javier Milei and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Pope Francis touched minds and hearts
Crowds had gathered in nearby streets for the funeral as early as 5am, including nuns and pilgrims.
More than 8,000 police officers were out in force, as well as firefighters, medics and volunteers.
Speaking during the 90-minute requiem mass, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, said Francis “incessantly raised his voice” for peace and urged people to “build bridges not walls”.
He spoke of Francis’s care for refugees, his pleas for peace and the importance of protecting the climate.
“The outpouring of affection that we have witnessed in recent days following his passing from this Earth into eternity tells us how much the profound pontificate of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts,” Cardinal Battista added.
He blessed the Pope's coffin with holy water, before burning incense in a thurible.
The basilica's bells then tolled three times after the blessing of the coffin was conducted.
After the service ended, Francis' coffin arrived at St Mary's Major Basilica where he was buried near an icon of the Virgin Mary at around 3pm.
Members of the public will be able to visit Francis’ tomb from Sunday before 130 cardinals gather to elect the next Bishop of Rome, in a process known as the conclave.
Francis lies entombed in an undecorated niche that until now has been used to store candlestick holders, inscribed only with his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.
