Francis rests in peace. It has been less than a week since he celebrated his final Easter Mass and, with great effort, greeted the faithful at the Vatican. Yet his memory remains as vivid as ever. Today, the world bid farewell to a pope who made closeness to the marginalized his mission, taking the Church to the streets and embracing refugees.
It was, fittingly, in the streets where hundreds of thousands of people —both believers and non-believers— kept vigil and paid tribute to the pontiff. According to Vatican figures, at least 200,000 attendees filled St. Peter’s Square and accompanied the procession to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. “I’ve been awake since 3:30 a.m.,” said a young volunteer helping to organize the crowd.
The funeral ceremony, officiated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, also turned into an unusual political stage. Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, who had not seen each other since their tense meeting at the White House, came together alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, amid ongoing tariff negotiations. There was even time for a brief meeting between Trump and Zelensky inside the basilica before the funeral, during which they pledged to continue talks toward a potential peace agreement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Despite these encounters, the Vatican kept the focus firmly on the pope’s farewell. The funeral was simple, solemn, and deeply emotional, following the explicit wishes of Jorge Bergoglio. Many faithful, visibly moved, wept in St. Peter’s Square under the Roman sun.
Among the attendees were dozens of international leaders. In the front rows sat Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, the King and Queen of Spain —Felipe VI and Letizia—, Argentine President Javier Milei, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Also present were Latin American leaders Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil), Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), Luis Abinader (Dominican Republic), and Xiomara Castro (Honduras).
During the homily, Cardinal Re recalled Francis’s vision: a Church as a “field hospital,” always close to those who suffer. Against the “culture of waste,” Francis promoted a culture of fraternity and mercy, insisting that “no one is saved alone.” His words, together with the memory of the pope’s tireless pursuit of peace, drew applause from a crowd that had been keeping a respectful silence for hours.
“Pray for me,” Francis used to say. This time, it was Re who voiced the plea: “Now we ask you to pray for us, as you did last Sunday in this very basilica, embracing all of humanity.”
The pope’s final wishes were honored with dignity and simplicity. After the Mass, his casket crossed the Vatican walls in a funeral procession towards the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. In an open popemobile, the coffin traveled through the streets of Rome, allowing thousands of faithful to say their final goodbye.
The cortege arrived at its destination after a thirty-minute journey. There, in the side nave of the Liberian basilica, between the Pauline and Sforza chapels, the burial took place after the singing of four psalms and five intercessions. The casket, sealed with the emblems of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Kevin Joseph Farrell, and other Vatican authorities, was placed under a marble slab from Liguria, the land of his Italian ancestors.
With the chanting of the Regina Caeli and the sprinkling of holy water, the funeral drew to a close — a farewell that truly represented the world: dignitaries from over 160 countries attended, along with “the least of these,” those for whom Francis had fought throughout his life.
Now, beneath that stone slab, rests the first Latin American pope in history, the man who came “from the end of the world” to remind us that the Church belongs to all.
