News: Pope Francis, the 266th pontiff, whose death at the age of 88 was confirmed by the Vatican on Easter Monday.
He will be buried with a touching message that honors him as a "simple and much-loved shepherd."
The funeral is being attended by prominent figures, including U.S. President Donald Trump, Prince William, and Sir Keir Starmer, with an anticipated turnout of up to 500,000 mourners expected to participate in the open-air service, many of whom are camping out overnight to pay their respects.
Since Wednesday, Francis had been lying in state in a modest wooden coffin lined with zinc at St. Peter's Basilica, which was sealed prior to today's funeral.
A heartfelt obituary inside the coffin highlights his journey as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, describing him as "a simple and much-loved shepherd" who navigated the city using public transport, prepared his own meals, and lived among his flock.
The note emphasizes that he "will remain in the heart of the Church and of humanity," concluding with a tribute to his legacy of compassion and universal fatherhood.
In contrast to previous popes, who were buried in three coffins, Pope Francis will be laid to rest in a single coffin, adorned with a zinc inner lid that features his name, a cross, his papal coat of arms, and the dates of his papacy, 2013–2025.
This morning, St. Peter’s Square was filled with world leaders, dignitaries, and tens of thousands of mourners, all gathered to pay their respects to one of the most transformative Catholic leaders of modern times.
From the early hours, pilgrims flocked to Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to the Vatican, singing hymns, praying, and sharing memories of Francis’s compassionate leadership.
As the service commenced, archbishops and bishops gathered in the Constantine Wing of St. Peter’s Basilica, dressed in chasubles, albs, belts, and simple white mitres, while priests and deacons assembled in St. Peter’s Square in similar attire, complemented by red stoles. Patriarchs and cardinals convened in Saint Sebastian’s Chapel, wearing white Damascene mitres.
The funeral procession featured clergy accompanying Francis's coffin, with the late Pope adorned in a red damask chasuble and a golden papal mitre. At 10 a.m. local time (9 a.m. BST), the funeral commenced, with Pope Francis’s coffin positioned before St. Peter’s Basilica, where Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Deacon of the College of Cardinals, presided over the solemn ceremony.