World bids farewell to Pope Francis with pilgrims and the powerful among 500,000 at funeral
More than 500,000 people, according to Italian authorities, gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Saturday to bid farewell to Pope Francis. "Nothing like this has ever been seen before," they said.
The funeral of Pope Francis, who died on April 21, 2025, at the age of 88, was attended, starting at 10:00 a.m. local time, by the world's highest political and religious leaders.
At least 50 heads of state and royal figures gathered in the heart of the Vatican to bid farewell to Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the late leader's secular name.
A historic ceremony, laden with symbolism in keeping with the legacy of Francis, a Pope who distanced himself from the Church's luxuries and who, for many, will be remembered for his fight to make it a more inclusive and progressive organization.
The first Latin American pope, the first Jesuit, and also the first to use the name Francis, in homage to the radical Saint Francis of Assisi, broke canons and precedents during his 12-year pontificate, and he did so on the day of his burial. He was the first pope of the Catholic Church in a century not to be buried in the grottoes of St. Peter's Basilica. Francis decided that his final resting place would be the Basilica of St. Mary Major, also in Rome, about 6 kilometers from the Vatican.