Some 250,000 Bid Farewell to Francis at Funeral Mass; Pope Buried at St. Mary Major in Rome
The funeral Mass for Pope Francis was held in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City on April 26, 2025. The Vatican estimated that some 250,000 people came to the square and surrounding streets to bid farewell to the pope, who died on April 21 at the age of 88; after the Mass, another 150,000 people lined the route as his coffin was taken across Rome for burial at the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
The Mass began at 10 a.m. local time and was presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals, with some 250 cardinals and many bishops and priests concelebrating. In his homily, Cardinal Re called Francis "a pope among the people, with an open heart toward everyone," and recalled his repeated call for "building bridges, not walls" and his care for migrants and people on the margins.
The funeral drew delegations from more than 130 countries and international organizations, including about 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs. President Donald Trump of the United States, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and President Emmanuel Macron of France were among the leaders who attended.
Francis had personally revised the papal funeral rites to emphasize simplicity: his body lay in a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc, carried into the square by 14 pallbearers. After the Mass, the coffin was placed on a modified popemobile — the vehicle Francis had used on his 2016 visit to Mexico — and driven some six kilometers through central Rome, as crowds applauded and chanted "Papa Francesco."
That afternoon, Francis was buried, as he had wished, in Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major, the church where he often prayed before the icon of the Virgin Mary. The burial rite was private, presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo; it began at 1 p.m. and lasted about half an hour, the Holy See Press Office said. On the basilica steps, the coffin was welcomed by a group of poor and needy people. His tomb is a simple slab of marble from Liguria, the Italian region of his ancestors, inscribed only with his Latin name, "Franciscus." He is the first pope buried outside the Vatican since Leo XIII, who died in 1903.
From April 23 to 25, Francis's body had lain in state in St. Peter's Basilica, where, according to the Holy See Press Office, approximately 250,000 people came to pay their respects. The funeral opened a nine-day period of mourning, after which the cardinals will gather in conclave to elect a new pope.
Related: Pope Francis Dies at 88 (Source: Holy See Press Office)
Source: Holy See Press Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 2025年4月26日，方济各的灵柩在罗马圣母大殿前被抬起，瑞士卫队在旁敬礼（意大利民防部摄，CC BY 2.0，经Wikimedia Commons） | April 26, 2025: the coffin of Pope Francis is raised in front of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, with Swiss Guards saluting (Dipartimento della Protezione Civile, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
- 2025-04-21Pope Francis Dies at 88
- 2025-04-26Some 250,000 Bid Farewell to Francis at Funeral Mass; Pope Buried at St. Mary Major in RomeThis story
