Pope Francis has been laid to rest on Saturday, after a moving funeral brought closure to a 12-year papacy defined by humility and simplicity.
Marked by enchanting choral music and emotive readings, around more than 400,000 mourners gathered to watch as tributes were paid to commemorate Francis in St Peter’s Square
The pontiff’s coffin was transported through the streets of Rome in a white popemobile following a 90-minute mass in St Peter’s Square.
He was then buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in a ceremony which was closed to the public. It was the first time that a pope has been buried outside of the Vatican in 100 years.
Thousands lined the streets to pay tribute to the Pope, applauding as the vehicle passed by the Rome Colosseum.
Italy’s interior minister said 400,000 people travelled for the funeral, including 150,000 inside St Peter’s Square.
It was a day that was dominated as much by diplomacy as much as it was by the ceremony, with dozens of world leaders and royals in attendance.
That included Donald Trump, the US president, and Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart.
The two leaders met for a 15-minute meeting on the sidelines of the funeral, which was described by the White House as “very productive”.
Sir Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, were also present at talks with Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky inside St Peter’s Basilica moments before the funeral began.
Once the ceremony got under way, Pope Francis was described as a “Pope among the people” by the senior cardinal who was delivering an address from the steps of St Peter’s Basilica.
“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,” said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the Deacon of the College of Cardinals.
“The final image we have of him, which will remain etched in our memory, is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessing from the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica”.
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