Applause, chanting complements farewell Mass for Pope

Presidents, prime ministers and kings joined pilgrims and prelates in St Peter’s Square today to bid farewell to Pope John Paul at a funeral service that drew millions to Rome for one of the largest religious gatherings in the West of modern times.

Applause rang out in the wind-whipped square as John Paul’s simple wooden coffin adorned with a cross and the M for Mary was brought out from the basilica and placed on the ground in front of the altar. The book of the Gospel was placed on the coffin.