ROME, Italy, Apr 26 (V7N) - Hundreds of thousands of mourners, including world leaders such as US President Donald Trump, gathered in Rome on Saturday, April 26, 2025, to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, a staunch advocate for the poor who sought to create a more compassionate Catholic Church.  

The Vatican reported that 400,000 people filled St. Peter's Square and lined the streets of Rome for the funeral of the first Latin American pontiff, who led the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.  

Following a solemn funeral service, Pope Francis's simple wooden coffin, symbolizing his life of humility, was transported to Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore church, where he was interred in a private ceremony.  

Vatican images showed cardinals affixing red wax seals to the coffin before it was placed in a tomb within an alcove.

Maria Vicente, a 52-year-old mourner from Guatemala, wept as she witnessed the coffin being carried into Santa Maria Maggiore, the late pope's preferred Roman church. "It made me very sad. It's touching that he left us like that," she said.  

Fourteen pallbearers, wearing white gloves, carried the coffin into the church, while children placed flower baskets at the altar and a choir performed prayers. The marble tomb was inscribed with the single word "Franciscus," his papal name in Latin.  

President Trump was among over 50 heads of state who attended the funeral. He engaged with several world leaders, including Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, marking their first in-person meeting since their February Oval Office dispute.  

"A Pope Among the People"

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who led the service, described Pope Francis, who died on Monday at the age of 88, as "a pope among the people, with an open heart," who strived to create a more compassionate and open-minded Catholic Church.  

The vast crowd gathered under a bright blue sky applauded as Cardinal Re praised the pope's "conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open."  

During his 12-year papacy, Pope Francis aimed to guide the Church toward greater inclusivity, and his death sparked a global outpouring of emotion.  

Maria Mrula, a 28-year-old student from Germany, who traveled 16 hours to attend the funeral, said Pope Francis's dedication to "giving to the poor and being with the poor" inspired many. "The Church is alive," she said. "It was great being here."  

Italian and Vatican authorities implemented a robust security operation for the ceremony, with fighter jets on standby and snipers positioned on surrounding rooftops.  

Red-robed cardinals and purple-hatted bishops sat on one side of the altar in St. Peter's Square, while world dignitaries sat opposite. The pope's simple cypress coffin, adorned with a pale cross, lay in front of the altar.  

"Build Bridges, Not Walls"

The funeral marked the beginning of nine days of official Vatican mourning for Pope Francis, who succeeded Pope Benedict XVI after his resignation in 2013. Following the mourning period, cardinals under the age of 80 will elect a new pope.  

Pope Francis's reforms angered traditionalists, and his criticism of injustices, such as the treatment of migrants and the damage caused by global warming, drew ire from many world leaders. However, his compassion and charisma earned him global affection and respect.  

Cardinal Battista Re highlighted Pope Francis's numerous gestures and appeals in favor of refugees and displaced persons, recalling his first papal trip to Lampedusa, an Italian island that serves as a primary port of call for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, and his celebration of mass on the border between Mexico and the United States.  

While President Trump's administration drew the pontiff's criticism for its mass deportation of migrants, the president paid tribute to "a good man" who "loved the world."  

During his first foreign trip of his second term, President Trump met with several world leaders, including Ukraine's President Zelensky, before the funeral. The White House described the meeting as "very productive."  

Cardinal Battista Re emphasized Pope Francis's constant calls for peace, stating that he urged "reason and honest negotiation" to resolve conflicts worldwide. "Build bridges, not walls' was an exhortation he repeated many times," the cardinal said.  

Former US President Joe Biden, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun also attended the funeral. Israel, which was angered by Pope Francis's criticism of its war in Gaza, sent only its Holy See ambassador. China, which does not have formal relations with the Vatican, did not send any representatives.  

Italian mourner Francesco Morello, 58, described the homily about peace as a "fitting, strong and beautiful message." He noted that Pope Francis "could not bring them together in life but he managed it in death."  

Pope Francis died of a stroke and heart failure less than a month after being discharged from the hospital, where he had been treated for pneumonia for five weeks.  

The 266th pope was known for his love of being among his flock, taking selfies with the faithful and kissing babies. He made it his mission to visit the peripheries rather than mainstream centers of Catholicism.  

His final public act, an Easter Sunday blessing, echoed his initial appeal to protect the "vulnerable, the marginalised and migrants."  

The Jesuit chose the name Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi, expressing his desire for "a poor Church for the poor." He resided in a Vatican guesthouse rather than the papal palace.  

Catholics around the world held events to watch the funeral live, including in Buenos Aires, where Pope Francis was born as Jorge Bergoglio in 1936.  

"The pope showed us that there was another way to live the faith," said Lara Amado, 25, in the Argentine capital.  

Pope Francis's admirers credit him with transforming perceptions of the Church and helping revive the faith after decades of clerical sex abuse scandals. He was considered radical by some for allowing divorced and remarried believers to receive communion, approving the baptism of transgender believers and blessings for same-sex couples, and refusing to judge gay Catholics.  

However, he also adhered to some centuries-old dogma, notably the Church's opposition to abortion.  

Cardinal Battista Re said Pope Francis strove for "a Church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world apart." He added, "A Church capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds." 

END/WD/RH/