Pope Francis’ casket met by thousands of mourners
Pope Francis’ casket was met by thousands of mourners in honor of his 12-year papacy.
Pope Francis, the humble pontiff whose acts of inclusiveness, modesty and mercy rippled through his 12-year papacy, was laid to rest Saturday in a service he deliberately simplified.
Hundreds of thousands of mourners and dozens of world leaders and dignitaries packed St. Peter’s Square in Rome for the funeral. After the Mass, Francis’ coffin was placed on an open-air popemobile and transported to the burial site outside the Vatican by a motorcade that traversed the streets of Rome, lined by cheering crowds.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, who presided over the funeral, lauded Francis in his homily as “a pope among the people, with an open heart toward everyone.”
“He established direct contact with individuals and peoples, eager to be close to everyone, with a marked attention to those in difficulty, giving himself without measure, especially to the marginalized,” he said.
The Mass began with readings from the Scripture after Francis’ simple wooden coffin, adorned by a large cross, was carried into the square by white-gloved pallbearers. Applause echoed through the square as bells tolled.
Some mourners had camped out overnight to secure a spot. “We have been waiting all night,” Maria Fierro of Spain said. “Accompanying (Francis) in his last moments is very emotional.”
James Mary, a Franciscan nun, said she had been “up the whole night. We want to say goodbye because he (was a) living saint, very humble and simple.”
Francis, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, died Easter Monday at 88 from a stroke, weeks after battling back from respiratory ailments. On Easter Sunday, the frail but resolute pope − who championed the poor and marginalized and was often called “the people’s pope” − thrilled crowds with an impromptu popemobile outing into St. Peter’s Square.
The Argentine pope, who contended with Catholic Church traditionalists opposed to his reforms, was known for his warm demeanor and for spurning any kind of grandeur: Living at a guesthouse in the Vatican, taking public transportation, wearing plain white cassocks. On his U.S. trip in 2015, he zipped around the nation’s capital in a small black Fiat.
Francis, who scaled back rules for papal funeral rites a year ago, made sure his own service and burial reflected that same message of simplicity − breaking from tradition even in death.
‘Build bridges, not walls’: Francis’ funeral brings together the powerful and the pious
Before he became Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the archbishop of his hometown Buenos Aires. On April 26, Argentina’s capital city held an outdoor Mass remembering their humble priest after his official funeral in Rome, some 6,900 miles away across the Atlantic Ocean.
Thousands took to the streets in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires, which stands along the central Plaza de Mayo near the Casa Rosada presidential palace. Francis, who came from a middle-class neighborhood in Buenos Aires, became known as the Jesuit priest who rode the city’s public transit and was a card-carrying fan of his hometown soccer club.
“He was a common man among us, just another porteño,” someone from Buenos Aires, Jorge Macri, the city’s chief of government, wrote in an op-ed titled “La ciudad de Francisco,” the city of Francis, in the newspaper La Nación. Macri said Francis “moved around by bus or subway, always on hand, always with the watchful eye of a pastor who knows his flock.”
– Eduardo Cuevas
Pope Francis has been laid to rest in a private, religious ceremony within the Basilica of St. Mary Major on Saturday afternoon, according to Vatican News.
The Rite of the Burial of the Roman Pontiff’s casket was attended by Catholic leaders and Francis’ family members, Vatican News said.
His coffin arrived at the basilica after a procession watched by thousands lining the street. It was greeted by 40 members of communities Francis uplifted during his papacy: people experiencing homelessness, migrants, prisoners and transgender people, the Associated Press reported. Four children placed white roses on his coffin.
More than a quarter-million people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ funeral, according to Vatican News.
About 250 cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops and priests, as well as consecrated religious and lay people joined Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, as he delivered the liturgy, the Vatican’s news agency said.
− Eduardo Cuevas
Pope Francis’ coffin was carried in an open-air popemobile, a white Mercedes-Benz bearing Vatican flags, through the streets of Rome in a motorcade.
The coffin was transported about 2.5 miles to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where Francis was buried in a private service.
As the popemobile made its way to the basilica, thousands of onlookers waved and clapped along the streets.
Pope Francis’ funeral service lasted two hours, compared to John Paul’s service in 2005 that last lasted three hours.
In his final testament, Francis asked to be buried inside the burial niche between Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani and Sforza Chapel, which are located within the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome instead of in the Grotto at St. Peter’s Basilica. He is the first pope being laid to rest outside the Vatican in almost a century.
The pope, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, also requested a “simple” burial: “The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, and bearing only the inscription: Franciscus,” he instructed.
St. Mary Major was special to Francis because of his devotion to Mary, Mother of God. He prayed there before and after many overseas trips.
The final resting place for Pope Francis is a nearly 1,600-year-old church and shrine to the Virgin Mary. The first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century, Pope Francis will be the eighth pope buried at St. Mary Major, Reuters reported.
Popes typically are buried in grottoes beneath St. Peter’s Basilica.
St. Mary Major is one of the four “Papal Basilicas,” according to Vatican News. Pope Sixtus III ordered St. Mary Major Basilica be rebuilt and enlarged in the year 432, according to the basilica’s website. St. Mary Major is the home of the relic of the Holy Crib, the manger of Baby Jesus, as well as the remains of St. Matthew and St. Jerome.
St. Mary Major also houses the tombs of artist Gian Bernini and his father Pietro, who had a workshop behind the Pauline Chapel at the basilica. Gian Bernini designed the colonnade in St. Peter’s Square in front of the basilica and the massive baldacchino, or canopy, inside the basilica, which is meant to mark the tomb of St. Peter. Pietro Bernini, who is credited along with his son for creating the Fontana della Barcaccia (“Fountain of the Leaky Boat”) at the foot of the Spanish Steps.
− Mike Snider
President Donald Trump had a brief “private” meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the funeral, White House communications director Steve Cheung said.
Cheung said the two leaders had a “very productive” conversation and that further details of the meeting would be made public in the coming hours. Ukraine said they would meet again later in the day. The White House has not confirmed that.
It was the first meeting since Trump and Zelenskyy had a fiery clash in the Oval Office in February about how to reach a peace settlement with Russia over their war.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump were seated in the front row for the service despite precedent established at the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II calling for him to be in the third row behind monarchs, the Daily Beast reported.
At that event, the news site reported, Catholic royals were placed in the front row, followed by non-Catholic royals. Non-royal heads of state were placed behind them according to their countries’ alphabetical order.
Trump’s midnight blue suit stood in contrast to the waves of black.
Trump and Pope Francis had clashed over the president’s plans to deport millions of migrants from the U.S., calling Trump’s crackdown a “disgrace,” as well as his cuts to foreign aid and programs supporting domestic welfare.
− Marc Ramirez
Pope Francis’ coffin also breaks with papal tradition. Instead of being buried in three coffins − each made of cypress, lead and elm and placed inside the other − he was buried in one simple one that is wooden and lined with zinc.
The coffin is shaped like a tapered hexagonal box. It it wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, resembling a human body.
According to global repatriation firm Homeland International, zinc is used to make coffins airtight and hermetically sealed. Steve Soult Limited, a coffin supplier in Nottingham, England, said zinc liners offer an additional safeguard to counter “external factors such as water, insects and other natural elements.”
“By safeguarding the coffin, these liners ensure that the memory of our loved one remains undisturbed, allowing us to find solace in knowing their resting place will endure the test of time,” the company said in a TikTok post. Zinc, it said, is “a durable and corrosion-resistant metal” that “helps to preserve the integrity of the coffin over time.”
− George Petras, Janet Loehrke and Marc Ramirez
Pope Francis remained a soccer fan during his time at the Vatican and some in his home country of Argentina think the pope made a set piece out of his passing.
A fan of the San Lorenzo de Almagro football club in his hometown Buenos Aires, Pope Francis literally remained a card-carrying supporter of the club. The number on his card: 88235.
The numbers coincide with the age of Pope Francis at his death (88) and his time of death, which the Vatican said was 7:35 a.m. (2:35 a.m. local time in Buenos Aires). San Lorenzo de Almagro confirmed the pope’s membership number to Reuters. The card bears the name of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the pope’s name at birth in 1936.
“It has to be destiny,” Ramiro Rodríguez, who wore a San Lorenzo team shirt (along with a rosary) to an April 25 mass to celebrate the pope’s life, told CNN.
− Mike Snider
The Book of the Gospels was resting on top of Pope Francis’ coffin as funeral prayers were read.
The book is “a sign of Christ’s presence in the liturgy,” according to the Midwest Theological Forum. “It is revered with the same holy kiss given to the altar.”
It contains readings from the Gospels according to Mark, Matthew, Luke and John and is sometimes presented for use accompanied by a procession of servers bearing incense and candles, according to an essay published in Pastoral Liturgy by Kristopher Seaman, associate director of the office of worship for the Diocese of Gary in northwest Indiana.
The book is typically placed on the Catholic pulpit, and opened to the page of the day’s particular reading.
The book also plays a role in the conclave in which the College of Cardinals will meet to choose Francis’ successor. Before the selection process begins, each cardinal places a hand on the book while pledging to follow the conclave’s rules and vows of secrecy.
− Marc Ramirez
Pope Francis privately expressed frustration over human inaction on dealing with climate change, former Secretary of State John Kerry told MSNBC ahead of the pontiff’s funeral.
Kerry, who served as U.S. climate envoy during the Biden administration, told MSNBC that Francis “absolutely” showed frustration in the four meetings they had to discuss climate change.
“He would roll his eyes a little bit about the human challenge, getting people to do things, but he had faith in that,” Kerry said. “Obviously, he had faith. He was remarkable in his steady, calm, quiet but totally dedicated mission of dealing with this.”
Pope Francis used his papacy to repeatedly call for reduced carbon emissions in industrialized countries, including in a 2015 address to Congress. In 2023, he criticized the United States as particularly “irresponsible” on emissions compared to China.
− Sarah D. Wire
At 88 years, 4 months and 4 days old, Francis was one of the oldest popes in the church’s history. Of all 266 pontificates, he died at a younger age than only a handful of others, though records for many are scant.
The oldest verified death of a pope was Leo XIII, who was 93 when he died in 1903. St. Agatho, a 7th-century pope, is said to have been well over 100 years old when he died during a plague in Rome, but the historical record on his age is limited.
Francis became the 266th pope in 2013 when he was 76, also making him one of the oldest popes elected. Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI, was already 78 by the time he was elected. Benedict resigned at 85 years old and died in 2022 at the age of 95.
− Eduardo Cuevas
Born on Dec. 17, 1936, Francis was one of five children born to Italian immigrant parents. His father, Mario, was an accountant and his mother, Regina, was a “committed wife,” according to the Vatican biography.
Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the eldest, according to the New York Times. When he was elected pope in 2013, he had one living sibling, a sister named María Elena Bergoglio, who was 64 at the time, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
María, who is 12 years younger than Jorge, told the Reporter at the time that she hoped her brother wouldn’t become pope because she “wanted him to come back!”
In another interview with CNN en Español, she said that when Francis called her after being elected, he told Maria to tell the rest of their family.
“He said, ‘I cannot call everyone. We are a very big family, so please send them my love. Because if I call everyone, it will empty the Vatican coffers,’” Maria said.
−Saman Shafiq
Pope Francis was the first Jesuit to lead the church in its nearly 2,000-year history.
The Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic order founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Jesuits adhere to Ignatian spirituality as laid out a document called the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which sets guidelines for meditation, self-awareness and prayer.
Jesuits strive to be “contemplatives in action,” turning their spirituality into action, and are known for their efforts to promote global justice, peace and dialogue.
Jesuit institutions in the United States include Georgetown University, Gonzaga University, Boston College, St. Louis University, Fordham University and the College of the Holy Cross.
− Marc Ramirez
The security operation in and around Vatican City is in full swing.
The funeral has brought together dozens of world leaders and thousands of people from around the world who traveled to Rome to pay their respects.
About 2,000 local police officers are on duty at Pope’ Francis’ funeral. They are joined by thousands more officers from the national security forces. Security measures include patrols on the Tiber, drones and snipers.
Streets were closed to traffic around the Vatican on Saturday. Authorities also announced a no-fly zone over Rome for the week.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re spoke in his homily of the pope’s constant call to “build bridges, not walls” between people. The pope held a Mass on the U.S.-Mexico border to highlight what he described as the “human tragedy” of “forced migration” when he visited the area in 2016.
The cardinal also recalled that Franics’ first ever foreign trip as pope was when he went to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a key spot in Europe’s refugees and migrants crisis.
Francis met with refugees and migrants in Lampedusa.
Kielce Gussie, the woman who delivered the first reading during the funeral service, is a journalist with Vatican News. Francis created the outlet to improve news coming from the Vatican.
Gussie joined Vatican News in October 2024 after more than two years at Rome Reports TV News Agency, a news agency focused on covering the pope and the Vatican, according to her LinkedIn page.
Gussie, whose Scripture reading came from the Acts of the Apostles, found out she was going to be part of the funeral on April 23, wrote Inside Edition’s Deborah Norville on social media. Gussie, who grew up in Florida, told Norville, “her dream was always to work as a reporter for the Vatican.”
− Mike Snider
Pope Francis served as head of the Catholic Church for 12 years, 1 month and 8 days, according to the deed buried with him. Francis’ reign was longer than the 7.5-year average time of the prior 265 pontificates, Reuters reported.
But the longest serving pope was much longer in verified and unverified history.
The longest confirmed pontificate was Pius IX, the 255th pope, who served for 32 years from 1846 until his death in 1878. He was 85 years old.
St. Peter, one of Jesus Christ’s 12 apostles who is considered the first pope, is said to have served 31 to 38 years. Peter headed the early church until his death sometime between 64 and 67 AD in Rome.
− Eduardo Cuevas
Dozens of world leaders and heads of state are now in Rome. Some of them have clashed with both the pope and each other.
Pope Francis once said that President Donald Trump’s plans to impose mass deportations of immigrants were a “disgrace.” Before taking their seats, Trump and his wife Melania paid their respects to Francis’ coffin in St. Peter’s Basilica. The coffin was sealed shut on Friday night.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not had any easy time navigating Trump’s attempts to secure a peace deal for the Ukraine-Russia war. The two leaders clashed in an Oval Office meeting in late February. The two leaders briefly met before the service. Former President Joe Biden and wife Jill are also in Rome.
One notable absence is Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who portrays himself as a main of serious faith. Putin is subject to an international criminal court arrest warrant over his invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin said he wouldn’t be attending.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over the funeral Mass, which will be celebrated by patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests from around the world, the Vatican said.
The College of Cardinals decides who will be the next pope in a highly secretive ritual called a papal conclave. As dean, Re is one of the most senior figures in the church. He has spent five decades serving in the Roman curia, the church’s various administrative institutions.
In a biography on the College of Cardinals website, Re is described as having an “affable manner and efficient approach to issues and conflicts.”
Pope Francis’ simple tomb, inscribed with just “Franciscus” and a reproduction of his pectoral cross, is made of marble from Italy’s Liguria region, where Francis traces his family’s origins before they settled in his native Argentina, according to Vatican News.
Francis requested to be buried in a tomb made from Ligurian stone. The plaque of slate, described as a “fine-grained gray, green or bluish metamorphic rock,” commemorates Francis’ great-grandfather, Vincenzo Sivori, on his mother’s side, the news website said.
Franca Garbaino, president of the Slate District in Liguria, said it was “not a noble stone,” but instead it was “the people’s stone” that “gives warmth.”
Francis’ family traces back to Cogorno, located southeast of Genoa, the capital of Liguria.
− Eduardo Cuevas
The Swiss Guard has been protecting popes since the 1500s. Members have a ceremonial role but also a protective one and, to an extent, they are mercenaries. They wear distinctive uniforms with feathered helmets, ruffled collars and puffed-out sleeves.
They are sometimes referred to as the world’s smallest army and are trained to an elite level in counterintelligence, close-quarters combat and bomb disposal. They are independent of Switzerland’s army, though they are trained in Switzerland.
Competition to be a Swiss Guard is intense. There are only 135 of them.
The weather has been spectacular all week in Vatican City, and conditions for the funeral also look terrific, forecasters said.
“It should a nice and calm day,” AccuWeather meteorologist Jacob Hinson told USA TODAY. He said sunny to partly cloudy skies are expected, with highs in the 70s.
Wind should not be an issue either, he added, with gusts of only 6-10 mph in the forecast.
− Doyle Rice
About 250,000 people bid farewell to Francis through this week as the pope was lying in state at St. Peter’s. Lines stretched more than half a mile north of the Vatican, and some people reported waits of about three hours to get inside the basilica.
“He was a wonderful pope,” Alessandra Caccamo of Rome said as she waited outside the Vatican. “I’m going to miss him so much, because it’s like I’ve lost a piece of me.”
Rachel Mckay, from Britain, said Francis was “somebody who made the church very accessible to everybody and inclusive to everybody. He’s like a member of the family, somebody very close to our hearts.”
Pope is a global icon: Fascination with papacy’s rituals take center stage
A conclave to choose a new pope normally takes place 15 to 20 days after the death of a pontiff, meaning it should not start before May 6. As of this week, there were 252 cardinals, of whom 135 are electors, according to the Vatican. Cardinals over the age of 80 are excluded from voting.
In medieval times, cardinals could take years to elect a new pope. Conclaves are much shorter now. Pope Francis was elected the day after the conclave began in 2013.
Voting takes place in a series of rounds until a clear winner emerges.
The world is waiting with bated breadth to find out who the next pontiff will be. Several names have emerged as possible front-runners, including bishops from Canada and the Philippines. Pope Francis was the first non-European pope elected in 1,300 years.
Contributing: Reuters
