Pope Francis Laid to Rest: A Heart Open to All

The presidential couple Donald and Melania Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and several royals were present at the coffin on Saturday.

The security presence is massive. The Vatican estimates that 250,000 people have gathered at St. Peter's Square for the pope's funeral – in addition to the quarter of a million who have filed past the coffin during the week.

Despite the crowds, there were moments of complete silence during the ceremony, with the exception of seagulls and drones.

Applauded

The funeral ceremony began shortly after 10 am when the wooden coffin was carried out onto St. Peter's Square, where the audience waited in silence, before breaking into applause. During the ceremony, prayers were interspersed with echoing choral singing.

Francis is described by Dean Giovanni Battista Re as "a pope among the people".

He had a heart open to all, he says in his eulogy.

When Battista Re mentions the pope's many travels, the audience again breaks into spontaneous applause.

The fact that so many have gathered here to mourn says a lot about Pope Francis' great love.

Sister Andra-Maria from Koblenz in Germany is in Rome on a lightning visit. She arrived on Friday and will return home directly after the funeral.

The pope is Jesus' representative on earth. It felt important to come here and honor him, she says to TT's correspondent.

Sunny Oritsegbubemi Okuku, originally from Nigeria but living in England, has also come to Rome. It's an emotional day, he says.

For me, the pope meant a lot. He was a simple man, a man of the people, who wanted everyone well and fought for peace.

160 dignitaries

Cardinals in red and white robes gathered around the coffin in brilliant sunshine. On the side podium, over 160 dignitaries from all corners of the world sat.

But they won't be able to accompany him all the way, at the pope's own request. To his final rest, the pope will be accompanied by the poor and homeless. The coffin was driven in the white papal car after lunchtime to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Unlike many predecessors, the Argentine pope has chosen not to be buried in St. Peter's Basilica but in the much smaller shrine in the central parts of Rome. There hangs his favorite icon of the Virgin Mary, which he often prayed to before and after his travels.

Bearing white roses

The pope's coffin will be greeted at the site by about 40 people, writes news agency AP: Homeless people, prisoners, migrants, and trans people, all bearing a white rose, will take a final farewell of the popular and progressive pope before his coffin reaches its final destination inside the building.

The emphasis on the poor and most needy permeated Pope Francis' time in office, he took his name after Saint Francis of Assisi. The latter was an Italian friar and founder of the Franciscan Order, who among other things devoted himself to caring for lepers and the poor, and reformed the Church.

Here is a selection of the over 160 heads of state and government – in alphabetical order – attending the funeral ceremony:

Argentina's President Javier Milei

Denmark's Queen Mary

Finland's President Alexander Stubb

UN Secretary-General António Guterres

France's President Emmanuel Macron

Israel's Vatican Ambassador Yaron Sideman

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella

Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, as well as Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide

Palestinian Authority's Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa

Russia's Culture Minister Olga Ljubimova

UK's Prince William and Prime Minister Keir Starmer