Funeral of Pope Francis begins with world leaders among thousands gathering

CNN

26-04-2025

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Title: Cardinals funnel out of St. Peter's Basilica
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The College of Cardinals are proceeding out of the basilica into St. Peter's Square.
They are walking in order of seniority, preceded by an ornate Book of the Gospels, and will kiss the altar before going to their seats.
The last person to enter the square will be the Celebrant, Cardinal Giovanni Re.
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Title: Funeral service opens with introductory rites
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The funeral of Pope Francis has begun with an antiphon – a short musical chant – and psalm. Like most of the service today, the text is in Latin.
'Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei,' sung the choir and congregation. (Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.)
The Sistine Chapel Choir – the prestigious group of 20 men and 30 or so boys who are the pope's personal choir – intones Psalm 64: 'Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion; et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem.' (Praise is due to you in Zion, O God. To you we pay our vows in Jerusalem.)
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Title: Pope Francis' coffin is being moved out to St. Peter's Square
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After lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica for three days, the coffin of Pope Francis is being carried out into the piazza outside.
The coffin, preceded by a plain Book of the Gospels, is being carried through the Holy Door of the basilica into the square. The coffin is being carried by the Gentlemen of His Holiness – butlers or valets to the pope.
The service will begin shortly.
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Title: Crowd applauds Zelensky as he enters St. Peter's Square
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just left St. Peter's Basilica and entered the square. The crowd, mostly hushed until now, just broke into applause.
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Title: A more diverse crowd than the last papal funeral
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Looking around, it's clear this is a much more global crowd than we've seen at papal funerals.
I was here for the funeral of John Paul II, and the crowd here today is much more diverse than back then. It's striking just how many people have come from all parts of the world. I'm seeing people from Indonesia, US, the Philippines, France, they've just come from everywhere.
There really has been a massive turn out for this funeral. We were here at 4.30 a.m., and people were already approaching St. Peter's Square. Once the police opened the barriers, people just ran up the boulevard to get as close as possible to the square.
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Title: Bells toll in St. Peter's Square as world leaders take their seats
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The bells of St. Peter's Basilica are tolling slowly as the congregation begins to take their seats. A hush has fallen over the square, where some 250,000 people have gathered.
More than 50 heads of state are attending today's funeral. We've seen many of them already, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a Catholic who had a close relationship with Pope Francis. US President Donald Trump has made his way to his seat.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also just paid his respects to Francis' coffin in the basilica, which will soon be carried into St. Peter's Square.
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Title: Pope Francis' funeral is the first foreign trip of Trump's second term
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We've just had our first sight of US President Donald Trump. He'll be sitting with First Lady Melania Trump, as well as former President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden.
Today's funeral marks Trump's first foreign trip since returning to the White House.
Before Pope Francis' death, Trump's first overseas visit was set to be to Saudi Arabia in May. But hours after the pope's death was announced, Trump ordered flags across the US to be flown at half-staff 'as a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis.'
'Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!' Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday.
In December, Trump – then the president-elect – attended the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which marked his unofficial return to the international stage ahead of his inauguration.
His presence in Rome today could offer a rare opportunity for world leaders to engage with Trump in person, as countries around the world grapple with the fallout from the US president's punishing tariffs.
'It's going to be very interesting,' Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday before he traveled to Rome. 'We're going to meet with a lot of the foreign leaders – they want to meet.'
Hours after the pope's death was announced Monday, Trump ordered flags across the US to be flown at half-staff 'as a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis.'
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Title: US President Trump arrives at St. Peter's Square
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US President Donald Trump has arrived at St. Peter's Square alongside First Lady Melania Trump.
The funeral for Pope Francis is set to begin at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET).
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Title: Young mourners camp overnight ahead of Francis' funeral
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Many of those here today opted to camp out on the street overnight in order to secure a good spot for Pope Francis' funeral. Among them, Sophia Amato, who arrived three hours ago, huddled with sleeping bags and blankets to keep warm.
'It was so important for us to say goodbye. He was so important to us. He was a pope of the young. He was a pope of the poor he was a pope of ordinary people we drove from southern Italy to get here,' she told CNN.
We camped at night just outside the square and then three hours ago we came in to get this spot in the front.'
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Title: How did Pope Francis simplify his funeral and burial?
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Francis – who chose his papal name after Francis of Assisi, the Italian saint who renounced his family wealth and championed the poor – took steps while he was alive to simplify the rites around his death to make them more 'down to earth.'
The Vatican said the funeral will follow the rites laid out in the 'Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis.' This liturgical book, detailing the procedures following the death of a pope, was published in 2000 and revised by Francis last year.
Some of those revisions have already been on display. Unlike after previous papal deaths, Francis' body was placed immediately inside his coffin, which has been left open to allow people to pay their respects.
Diego Ravelli, master of apostolic ceremonies, said Francis had sought to 'simplify and adapt' the rituals, so that the papal funeral is 'that of a pastor and disciple of Christ, and not of a powerful person in this world.'
Elise Allen, CNN's Vatican analyst, said Francis, the first Argentine pontiff, was the 'pope of simplicity.'
'He lived that way in Buenos Aires, and he tried to bring that into the papacy and the way that he lived as pope because that's something he wanted for the church itself – to be more simple, to be more in contact with reality, with the lives of people around,' Allen said.
In his will, Francis gave simple instructions for his burial: 'The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.'
Rather than the splendor of the Vatican, Francis has opted to be buried in Rome's Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. He will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.
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Title: Nuns and other mourners sprinted into the Vatican when its gates opened earlier
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When the Vatican's gates opened to the public at 6 a.m. local time (12 a.m. ET), crowds of nuns and other faithful raced up the road leading to St. Peter's Square, hoping to get the best possible view of the pope's funeral.
As the square filled up, police asked people not to run.
'The crowd control is very good,' said José Antonieta, who travelled from Scotland with his daughter. They walked to the gates of the square at 6 a.m. and nearly three hours later were close to the entrance of the colonnade.
Antonieta, draped in the flag of his native Venezuela, said they feel 'blessed' to be here after narrowly missing the pope's lying in state on Friday.
The Vatican has prepared for as many as 250,000 people to flock to St. Peter's Square and 1 million more to line the 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) procession route from the Vatican City through Rome to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, in hopes of seeing the pope's modest coffin as it travels to his final resting place.
More large viewing screens have been set up in the square and the road leading to it. Nearby piazzas in Rome have also been equipped with TVs, as large crowds descended on the area.
And many more of world's 1.4 billion Catholics are expected to watch the funeral broadcast from home.
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Title: It's set to be a warm, clear day in Rome
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Rome has had glorious sunshine all week, and Saturday is set to be more of the same.
After starting at a low of 11°C (52°F) early this morning, temperatures are forecast to reach 16°C (60°F) by the time the service starts at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET).
In the afternoon – when Pope Francis' body will be transferred from the Vatican to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome – temperatures are set to reach a high of 22°C (72°F).
No rain is expected, but there may be some clouds in the afternoon.
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Title: Young Italian students spent the night in a church to get a good spot this morning
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It's striking how many young people there are in St. Peter's Square this morning.
CNN spoke to a group of students from southern Italy on Saturday who said they'd spent last night in sleeping bags in a nearby church so they could get to the Vatican as early as possible.
Pope Francis' legacy also clearly resonates with people who don't consider themselves Catholics, or even Christians.
'I'm not especially religious, but he seemed to have been such a humble person who looked after the poor and actually lived proper Christian beliefs,' one mourner told CNN.
'He didn't go in for all the pomp and circumstance. He wanted a humble funeral, he wanted his last resting place to be in a more humble place than here,' she added.
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Title: What to expect on Saturday as the Pope makes his journey to his final resting place
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Under the meticulously planned arrangements for the Pope's funeral, the ceremony will take place mostly at the Vatican, before Francis' body is taken across the River Tiber for burial in a Rome basilica.
Here's a rundown of what we're expecting with just under an hour to go:
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Title: Former US President Biden arrives at St. Peter's Square
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Former US President Joe Biden has arrived at St. Peter's Square alongside his wife Jill Biden.
Pope Francis' funeral will begin in just under an hour. Biden will sit with the rest of the delegation from United States, including current US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
As delegations will be sat in alphabetical order in French, those in the US delegation - known as 'États-Unis' - will be placed near those representing Estonia and Finland.
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Title: Who's coming to the funeral?
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A total of 130 delegations including 55 heads of state, 14 heads of government and 12 reigning monarchs will be in attendance, the Vatican has said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are among the major European leaders who will attend.
US President Donald Trump is also going.
Britain's Prince William, next in line to the throne, is among the world's royals attending. King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain are going.
As well as a string of world and religious leaders, at least tens of thousands of members of the public are expected to be in St. Peter's Square. About 50,000 people came to Pope Benedict XVI's funeral in 2023, while around 300,000 attended Pope John Paul II's in 2005.
And to cover the event, more than 4,000 journalists have requested accreditation from the Holy See, Vatican media reported.
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Title: Here are three things to look out for during today's service
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St. Peter's Square in the Vatican is starting to fill with mourners, and the choir is practising the hymns it will soon sing to the world.
What's struck me is how many young people there are in the crowd – a testament to Pope Francis' wide appeal.
The service is set to start in a little over an hour. Here's what to look out for.
First is the placing of a Book of the Gospels on Francis' coffin. The Gospels recount the life and teachings of Jesus Christ – something Pope Francis strove to follow throughout his life.
Second is that papal funerals bring together world leaders like no other event. The dozens of leaders gathered here today will sit in alphabetical order of their nations – in French, the traditional language of diplomacy.
This means US President Donald Trump will be sat between the leaders of Estonia and Finland, since the US is 'États-Unis' in French. The leaders of Italy – the host nation – and Argentina – Francis' birthplace – will, however, have pride of place.
The third thing to look for will be Francis' procession from the Vatican to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. As pope, Francis left the Vatican often, traveling to the margins and peripheries of the globe. It's fitting that he'll make one last journey outside the walls of the Vatican.
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Title: What's happened since Francis' death?
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Francis died at 7.35 a.m. Easter Monday, on the second floor of his papal residence in the Vatican. Throughout his 12-year papacy, Francis chose not to live in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, but in its guesthouse, Casa Santa Marta – in a gesture of humility that would characterize his pontificate.
Francis' body was placed in an open coffin and taken to the chapel in Casa Santa Marta on Monday evening. That night, Cardinal Kevin Farrell – the 'camerlengo' tasked with planning the papal funeral and conclave – certified Francis' death and sealed his papal apartment in his residence. The room will remain sealed until a successor is chosen.
On Wednesday morning, the camerlengo held a brief service in the chapel before Francis' body was transferred to St. Peter's Basilica through Piazza Santa Marta and the Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani, passing through the Arch of the Bells and into St. Peter's Square, before entering through the basilica's central door.
Bells tolled slowly as the coffin entered the basilica at 9.30 a.m. local time, while mourners in the piazza outside broke into applause.
Following a brief service in the basilica, Pope Francis' body has been lying in state in an open coffin. Tens of thousands of mourners visited his body before Farrell presided over the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin on Friday evening, and the doors of the basilica closed to the public.
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Title: In pictures: Crowds gather in St. Peter's Square before Pope Francis' funeral
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Crowds of mourners have gathered in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, where the funeral for Pope Francis will begin in less than two hours' time.
The Vatican says up to a quarter of a million people could flock to the square and a million more line the route through Rome.
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Title: Ukraine's Zelensky arrives in Rome for funeral
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Rome to attend Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday, Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform reported.
The leader arrived alongside Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska and the rest of Ukraine's delegation, the agency said.
Zelensky had said Friday that he will travel to the Vatican for the funeral if he can make it in time to attend, after numerous meetings related to the three-year war between his country and Russia.
Zelensky and Ukraine's European partners are currently seeking to sketch out a vision of a potential deal to end the war, as parallel talks take place between the United States and Moscow.
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Title: The Catholic world prepares to bid farewell to Pope Francis
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Six days ago, Pope Francis appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to give his Easter Sunday blessing. Thousands had gathered in the square below to witness the pope's first major public appearance since his bout of double pneumonia, which had hospitalized him for weeks.
Hours after his appearance, early on Easter Monday, Francis died of a stroke and heart failure at his Vatican residence. He was 88.
Since then, tens of thousands of pilgrims have passed through the doors of St. Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis, whose body has been lying in state since Wednesday.
Today, scores of political and religious leaders – as well as thousands of pilgrims – will gather at the Vatican to bid farewell to Francis.
The bulk of the service – which Francis took steps to 'simplify' while he was alive – will take place in St. Peter's Square. Later, his body will be taken across the River Tiber to be buried in a tomb in Rome's Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. Francis will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in over a century.
The funeral begins at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET). Stay with us as we bring you coverage from St. Peter's Square.