Pope Francis funeral | Mighty, meek attend ceremony that he helped reimagine

World leaders and Catholic faithful bid farewell to Pope Francis in a funeral reflecting his priorities and wishes.

World leaders and Catholic faithful bade farewell to Pope Francis in a funeral Saturday (April 26, 2025) reflecting his priorities as Pope and wishes as pastor. Though Presidents and Princes attended the Mass in St. Peter’s Square, prisoners and migrants will welcome him into the basilica across town where he will be laid to rest.

Also read: Pope Francis funeral live updates, April 26, 2025

Tens of thousands of people flocked before dawn to the square on a brilliant spring day that was supposed to have been a special Holy Year celebration for adolescents. Perhaps because so many young people were on hand, the somber ceremony still had a festive mood, with mourners taking selfies amid the hymns as Pope Francis’ simple coffin was brought out of St. Peter’s Basilica at the start of the Mass.

Pope Francis had choreographed the funeral himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s rites and rituals last year. His aim was to emphasise the Pope’s role as a mere pastor and not “a powerful man of this world.”

It was a reflection of Pope Francis’ 12-year project to radically reform the papacy, to stress priests as servants and to construct “a poor church for the poor.” He articulated the mission just days after his 2013 election and it explained the name he chose as Pope, honoring St. Francis of Assisi “who had the heart of the poor of the world,” according to the official decree of the Pope’s life that was placed in his simple wooden coffin before it was sealed Friday (April 25, 2025) night.

Despite Pope Francis’ focus on the powerless, the powerful were at his funeral. U.S. President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, and European Union leaders joined Prince William and European royals leading more than 160 official delegations. Argentine President Javier Milei had the pride of place given Pope Francis’ nationality, even if the two didn’t particularly get along and the Pope alienated many Argentines by never returning home.

The white facade of St. Peter’s glowed pink as the sun rose on Saturday (April 26, 2025) and hordes of mourners rushed into the square. Giant television screens were set up along the surrounding streets for those who couldn’t get close. The Mass and funeral procession — with Pope Francis’ coffin carried on the open-topped Popemobile he used during his 2015 trip to the Philippines — were also being broadcast live around the world.