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Huge crowd, world leaders bid farewell to Francis at funeral

Huge crowd, world leaders bid farewell to Francis at funeral

Some 250,000 around St Peter's, 150,000 on procession route

ROME, 26 April 2025, 15:13

ANSA English Desk

ANSACheck
Huge crowd, world leaders bid farewell to Francis at funeral - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Huge crowd, world leaders bid farewell to Francis at funeral - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Huge crowds of mourners and dozens of world leaders attended the funeral of Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88 after 12 years at the helm of the Catholic Church, in Saint Peter's Square on Saturday.
    The Vatican said 160 delegations attended, including approximately 50 heads of state and 10 reigning sovereigns.
    US President Donald Trump, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Argentine President Javier Milei, the leader of Francis's homeland, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Giorgia Meloni were among them.
    King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain and King Abdullah II of Jordan, and many presidents, including Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier; Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; and France's Emmanuel Macron, were present too.
    The Vatican said around 250,000 people were at the funeral, according to the information it had from the "competent authorities" as the service was closing.
    It said another 150,000 people lined up along the route of the procession carrying Francis's coffin from Saint Peter's to his final resting place at the Rome Basilica of Saint Mary Major for an overall total of around 400,000 mourners.
    Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, paid tribute Francis's spirit of sacrifice in his homily.
    "Despite his final fragility and suffering, Pope Francis chose to walk the path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life," Re said as he presided over the funeral.
    "He followed in the footsteps of his Lord, the good Shepherd, who loved his sheep to the point of giving his own life for them.
    "And he did so with strength and serenity, close to his flock, the Church of God". Francis give a blessing from the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica and rode around St Peter's Square in a popemobile to greet the crowd at last Sunday's Easter Mass on the day before he died.
    "In spiritual union with all of Christendom we are here in great numbers to pray for Pope Francis so that God may receive him in the immensity of his love," Re continued.
    "Pope Francis used to conclude his speeches and personal meetings by saying: 'Do not forget to pray for me'.
    "Now, dear Pope Francis, we ask you to pray for us and we ask that from heaven you bless the Church, bless Rome, bless the entire world, as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica in a final embrace with all of God's people, but also with humanity that seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds high the torch of hope".
    Re also recalled Pope Francis's commitment to peace, with his repeated appeals to end all wars, and the emphasis he put on the plight of migrants and the needy. These passages of the homily elicited applause from the crowds in St Peter's Square and outside the Basilica of St Mary Major, where a big screen was set up to enable people to follow the service.
    After the funeral, the coffin arrived at St Mary Major in an adapted popemobile, refitted as a hearse to enable mourners to see the coffin as it passed through the streets of the Italian capital.
    The late pontiff was fond of Saint Mary Major.
    He would always go there to pray before and after every apostolic journey he went on and he asked to buried there, not in St Peter's like most other popes, in his testament. The Vatican has said it will be possible to visit Francis's tomb at St Mary Major from Sunday.
    Around 250,000 people queued for hours to pay homage to the late Argentine pontiff during the lying in state of his remains between Wednesday and Friday in St Peter's Basilica.
    Meloni was among the officials to pay their respects on Wednesday.
   

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