Massive Crowds Mourn as Pope Francis Is Laid to Rest in Historic Vatican Funeral

April 26, 2025 | 07:18 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in Vatican City on Saturday, April 26, 2025. Many lined the streets of Rome to pay their final respects to Pope Francis.

The funeral of Pope Francis was held on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, one of the most important places in the Catholic Church. More than 50 world leaders and 11 kings were in attendance.

Those present are estimated to include US President Donald Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the leader of the largest Catholic country in Asia.

According to CNN, the Vatican had prepared for around 250,000 people to gather in St. Peter’s Square, with an additional one million expected to line the 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route through Rome, from Vatican City to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Mourners hoped to catch a final glimpse of the Pope’s simple coffin as it made its way to its resting place.

Pope Francis’s funeral was also broadcast live by television stations, allowing approximately 1.4 billion Catholics around the world to witness the historic event.

Prior to the funeral, Pope Francis’s body lay in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica. His coffin was sealed on Friday night during a liturgical ceremony led by Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell, who currently serves as the acting head of the Church.

In contrast to previous popes, Francis had requested a simpler funeral. As reported by Al Jazeera, in 2024 he had revised the traditional burial rules, which once required three coffins; made of cypress, oak, and lead, nested within one another.

Under the new regulations, popes may now be buried in a single wooden coffin lined with zinc, and burials outside the Vatican grounds are permitted if desired.

Honoring his final wishes, Pope Francis’s coffin was moved to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, located outside the Vatican walls. He will become the first pope buried there since the 1600s, and the first in over a century to be laid to rest outside the Vatican.

In his last will and testament, released on Monday, Pope Francis indicated that the costs of his funeral would be covered by an anonymous benefactor.

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