Troubled world unites at Pope Francis’s funeral
As friend and foe alike joined together to celebrate the life of Pope Francis in Rome, international dignitaries were urged to “persevere in seeking the path of peace”.
Europe
Don't miss out on the headlines from Europe. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A troubled world was united at the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square, where most of the world’s heads of state joined cardinals, bishops, priests, refugees and the homeless in a collision of solemnity and colour.
The funeral, held on Saturday local time, was the ultimate farewell of a long and simple life of service.
But it was also a beginning; of the official mourning process, and of the political currents of Catholic Church renewal which follow every papal death.
Amid unprecedented security, which included soldiers on the ground armed to shoot down drones, Francis sought a simpler ceremony, in marking his adherence to humility.
Nuns were seen jogging for position when the gates opened after dawn, when the clouds parted for sunshine. Priests ran for a good seat.
The crowd was noticeably youthful, and one commentator on the ground described a sense of jubilance beforehand.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, sunglasses on head, was there.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky was clapped on his arrival.
He met with some time friend, and foe, US president Donald Trump (one of two US presidents in the audience), who looked impassive as he arrived, with wife Melania, moments before the coffin was carried, with unhurried grandeur, into the square.
About 250,000 people thronged for the event which will echo as one of the biggest international moments of the decade.
The hours-long send-off, delivered in Latin, ahead would be steeped in ancient rituals and prayers in a spectacular nod to the spectre of the 266th pope, and his peace in the afterlife, rather than the story of a man christened Jorge Mario Bergoglio 88 years ago.
“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want …” began an early prayer.
“Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death, no evil would I fear, for you are with me.”
International guests were invited to be “ever united in fraternal love” and to “persevere in seeking the path of peace”.
Subsequent photos of Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump, chatting one-on-one in an offstage meeting before the funeral, seemed to offer tangible evidence for the optimistic rhetoric.
The funeral ran over two hours, much shorter than the 2005 send-off of Pope John Paul II, at the time called the largest funeral in history.
It was led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, adorned in red vestments, and a stoic voice throughout the service.
The cardinal said Francis touched hearts, alluding to the pope’s final public appearance, on Easter Sunday, in St Peter’s Square, when he greeted the large crowd despite his ailing health.
Francis was eager to be close to everyone, especially the marginalised, and vocal in his support for “reason” instead of war.
He believed the church capable of “bending down” to everyone, a once unthinkably submissive idea for a sitting pope.
He was, in effect, a pastor in a pope’s hat.
Francis, the cardinal declared, was “a pope among the people”, before ending the homily to loud applause.
Beforehand, the funeral was described as a conventional Catholic funeral, except with papal touches, such as an 87-page order of service brimming with prayers for Francis’s “everlasting life”.
The mass was not about mourning – indeed, the choral singing throughout sounded exultant.
Instead, the service offered prayers for a “departed servant of God” in heaven, “a place of light and joy, a verdant place, a place of blessedness, where suffering, pain and sorrow are no more”.
Francis was called a “fearless preacher”, a “faithful minister” and a “chief shepherd”.
Forgiveness was sought for sins, “in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and what I have failed to do”.
Pope Francis wanted to be farewelled as a “disciple of Christ”, and not as a “powerful man”. But millennia of tradition demanded otherwise.
In 2022, when Francis presided over the funeral of his predecessor, pope emeritus Benedict XVI, 120 cardinals, 400 bishops and almost 4000 priests sat among the mourners.
Saturday’s funeral was much heftier.
The open air event boasted heavier security than Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in London in 2022.
The unprecedented concentration of world leaders meant the site was a no-fly zone patrolled by jet fighters, snipers, anti-drone technologies as well as anti-terrorism and anti-sabotage units amid the throngs.
On Friday night, Francis’s coffin was sealed after a white silk cloth was placed on his face. He was laid to rest clutching rosary beads.
The funeral mass was the first of nine formal masses held for a departed pope.
After the nine days, known as the novendiali, the church moves to the Ordo Rituum Conclavis, or the Rites of the Conclave, which sets out the process for electing Francis’ replacement.
The pope’s coffin travelled on a glorified ute from St Peter’s Square along a route of Roman postcards, such as the Coliseum, before arriving at the pope’s final resting place, Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, to be entombed in what used to be a storeroom for church candelabras.
A group of 40 people was thought to attend Francis’s private burial, including ex-prisoners and homeless people.
Their presence commemorated a leader who, as billions of people paused to reflect, presided over God’s church “in charity”.
More Coverage
Originally published as Troubled world unites at Pope Francis’s funeral
Beckham turns 50: Why soccer star’s brand is unstoppable
From family feuds to marital dramas, the House of Beckham still fascinates as David and Victoria’s empire continues to grow.
Pope Francis’s funeral in pictures
Royals and international dignitaries alike descended on Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis. Here, we take a look at the best photos from the historic day.