Thousands of people crowded into the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square on Saturday morning for the funeral of Pope Francis.
World leaders attending the funeral included United States President Donald Trump, United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Prince William, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
About 250 cardinals, other clergy, religious brothers and sisters also attended the funeral mass in St. Peter’s Square.
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According to Vatican estimates, around 200,000 crowded into the square and surrounding areas to be a part of the occasion.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday of a stroke and heart failure. He had been weakened in his final months after battling double pneumonia, for which he was hospitalized for several weeks in February.
In the days leading up to his funeral, thousands processed passed his open coffin in St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their respects.
The crowds cheered as it was carried through St. Peter’s Square for his funeral.
Francis has been remembered as “humble” and “a Pope of the people” by the interim head of the Church of England, Stephen Cottrell.
“He was a great Pope. But first and foremost, he was a follower of Jesus,” he wrote in The Telegraph.
“The whole world has been touched by his life and ministry. The whole world mourns his passing. The whole world would do well to follow his example.”
In line with his wishes, the pope will be buried at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the first pontiff to be buried there in 350 years.
The day had its political moments, too, as Trump and Zelensky had a 15-minute meeting inside St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of the funeral. And there was applause from the crowds when Zelensky arrived in St. Peter’s Square.
This article was originally published by Christian Today.
