Pope Francis funeral: 250,000 people bid farewell to pontiff who said ‘build bridges, not walls’

Tens of thousands of people packed St Peter’s Square for the funeral of Pope Francis before his body was carried through the streets of Rome.

Royals, world leaders and cardinals joined scores of worshippers at The Vatican, as mourning of the pontiff – the 266th since St Peter – transcended wealth and social class.

In keeping with Francis’s life as a breaker of tradition, many of the more elaborate and expensive rituals customary for the burial of popes have been foregone in favour of simpler options.

Around 250,000 people attended the funeral, with around 50,000 packing out St Peter’s Square to watch the service before the coffin bearing the pontiff began its journey through the streets of the Italian capital.

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His body had been lying in state since his death aged 88 on Easter Monday, spending the last few days in St Peter’s Basilica to allow mourners to pay their respects.

The Vatican – where the funeral service took place – and Rome – where Francis has been laid to rest – have been under heavy security, with a no-fly zone overhead.

President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, along with Sir Keir Starmer, President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, headlined a huge selection of global leaders and dignitaries.

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Francis’s coffin was taken out into St Peter’s Square where 220 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests sat in rows, waiting to say goodbye to the Bishop of Rome.

The pontiff eschewed the elaborate coffins used by many of his predecessors, opting instead for a simple wooden casket lined with zinc – a reflection of his efforts to reform the papacy and build “a poor church for the poor”.

A series of sermons and prayers began with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re reading the Penitential Act – a way for the faithful to confess their sinfulness.

This was followed by the Liturgy of the Word, a part in Catholic mass where faithful gather to hear and reflect on the word of God.

Cardinal Re then delivered the homily, speaking about Pope Francis’ life and service to God.

The cardinal praised the pontiff as someone who “touched the minds and hearts of people” who was “attentive to the signs of the times”.

He added: “Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life.”

He said Francis “was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone”.

Cardinal Re also repeated one of Francis’s strongest criticisms of President Trump – who was in the audience – with a call to “build bridges, not walls”.

He also called for care for migrants and action on climate change.

As the service in front of St Peter’s Basilica drew to a close, Cardinal Re blessed the pope’s coffin with holy water.

At the end of the mass, the choir sang in Latin: “May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come and welcome you and take you into the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem.”

The coffin was then carried back into St Peter’s Basilica through the ‘doors of death’, as a 10-ton funeral bell tolled.

Pope Francis’s body then left the basilica aboard a white truck and was taken in procession through the streets of Rome to his final resting place at his favourite church, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

There were cheers and applause from the public on either side of the roads as the cortege passed them.

Upon arrival, Pope Francis’s body was ushered into the basilica – which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary – by prisoners and migrants, a last reflection of his priorities as pope.

In a break with tradition, Pope Francis outlined in his will his request to be buried “in the ground, without particular ornamentation” but simply with the inscription “Franciscus”.

The burial ceremony itself took place in private.