Tens of hundreds of individuals packed St Peter’s Sq. for the funeral of Pope Francis earlier than his physique was carried by way of 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 line with Francis’s life as a breaker of custom, lots of the extra elaborate and costly rituals customary for the burial of popes have been foregone in favour of easier choices.
Round 250,000 individuals attended the funeral, with round 50,000 packing out St Peter’s Sq. to look at the service earlier than the coffin bearing the pontiff started its journey by way of the streets of the Italian capital.
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His physique had been mendacity in state since his death aged 88 on Easter Monday, spending the previous few days in St Peter’s Basilica to permit mourners to pay their respects.
The Vatican – the place the funeral service befell – and Rome – the place Francis has been laid to relaxation – have been below heavy safety, with a no-fly zone overhead.
The coffin of Pope Francis is borne aloft by pallbearers. Pic: Reuters
Members of the clergy gathered to say farewell to their pontiff. Pic: Reuters
President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, together with Sir Keir Starmer, President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, headlined an enormous number of international leaders and dignitaries.
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How the Pope’s funeral unfolded
Full order of service for Pope’s funeral
Pope Francis’s funeral in pictures
Francis’s coffin was taken out into St Peter’s Sq. the place 220 cardinals and 750 bishops and monks sat in rows, ready to say goodbye to the Bishop of Rome.
The pontiff eschewed the flowery coffins utilized by lots of his predecessors, opting as a substitute for a easy wood casket lined with zinc – a mirrored image of his efforts to reform the papacy and construct “a poor church for the poor”.
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Singing rings out at The Vatican
Members of the clergy stand in St Peter’s Sq.. Pic: Reuters
A sequence of sermons and prayers started with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re studying the Penitential Act – a approach for the trustworthy to admit their sinfulness.
This was adopted by the Liturgy of the Phrase, a component in Catholic mass the place trustworthy collect to listen to and replicate on the phrase of God.
Cardinal Re then delivered the homily, talking about Pope Francis’ life and repair to God.
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Pope Francis ‘incessantly raised his voice’ in opposition to wars
Rows of mourners within the sq. in entrance of the Basilica. Pic: Reuters
The cardinal praised the pontiff as somebody who “touched the minds and hearts of individuals” who was “attentive to the indicators of the instances”.
He added: “Regardless of his frailty and struggling in direction of the top, Pope Francis selected to observe this path of self-giving till the final day of his earthly life.”
He stated Francis “was a pope among the many individuals, with an open coronary heart in direction of everybody”.
The coffin of Pope Francis lies on the bottom in St. Peter’s Sq.. Pic: AP
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re blesses Francis’s coffin
Cardinal Re additionally repeated one in all Francis’s strongest criticisms of President Trump – who was within the viewers – with a name to “construct bridges, not partitions”.
He additionally referred to as for look after migrants and motion on local weather change.
Because the service in entrance of St Peter’s Basilica drew to an in depth, Cardinal Re blessed the pope’s coffin with holy water.
Tens of hundreds pack St Peter’s Sq. for the funeral. Pic: AP
Clergy seated through the funeral. Pic: AP
On the finish of the mass, the choir sang in Latin: “Might the angels lead you into paradise; could the martyrs come and welcome you and take you into the holy metropolis, the brand new and everlasting Jerusalem.”
The coffin was then carried again into St Peter’s Basilica by way of the ‘doorways of loss of life’, as a 10-ton funeral bell tolled.
Pope Francis’s physique then left the basilica aboard a white truck and was taken in procession by way of the streets of Rome to his remaining resting place at his favorite church, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
The popemobile carries the coffin of Pope Francis to Santa Maria Maggiore. Pic: Reuters
Worshippers exterior the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Pic: Reuters
There have been cheers and applause from the general public on both facet of the roads because the cortege handed them.
Upon arrival, Pope Francis’s physique was ushered into the basilica – which is devoted to the Virgin Mary – by prisoners and migrants, a final reflection of his priorities as pope.
In a break with custom, Pope Francis outlined in his will his request to be buried “within the floor, with out explicit ornamentation” however merely with the inscription “Franciscus”.
The burial ceremony itself befell in non-public.
