As it happened: World leaders and faithful gather for Pope Francis's funeral at St Peter’s Basilica
A nun holds a phot of Pope Francis while attending his funeral in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Pope Francis has been laid to rest following a historic funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, attended by world leaders, clergy, and thousands of mourners.
In this live blog, now wrapped, you can watch back the full service and catch up on the key moments and reflections from the proceedings.
The funeral Mass, led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, honoured the pontiff’s life of service, compassion, and leadership.
The ceremony blended centuries of Vatican tradition with heartfelt tributes to a pope who reshaped the papacy with his emphasis on humility, inclusion, and care for the world's most vulnerable.
Thousands filled St Peter’s Square in a powerful final farewell.
Below, you can relive how the day unfolded, with video highlights, updates, and commentary from Vatican City.
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The Pope’s coffin has been received by a “group of poor and needy people” as it arrived at St Mary Major church where he will be buried.
The coffin arrived after a procession through Rome where crowds had gathered to pay their respects and clapped as the casket drove past.
The Holy See said on Thursday that a “group of poor and needy people” would be present on the steps leading to Saint Mary Major to pay their last respects to Francis before he is entombed.
The burial will be held in private.
The Vatican previously announced that people will be able to visit Francis’s tomb from Sunday morning.
Crowds have gathered on the streets of Rome to pay respects to Pope Francis as his coffin is transported through the city.
The casket is being driven through the Italian capital in a white vehicle, similar to the open top pope-mobile.
More than 250,000 people assembled at St Peter’s Square for the funeral of Pope Francis, the Vatican said on Saturday.
“The competent authority informs us that, while the funeral of Pope Francis has ended, more than 250,000 people are present,” said the Vatican in a brief statement Saturday at the end of the ceremony.
The funeral mass for Pope Francis has ended and now his coffin will be carried in a procession to the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome for burial.
As the route map shows below, the procession will leave Vatican City and follow a route over the Tiber River and then through central Rome to Piazza Venezia, passing by the Colosseum, before turning northward to arrive at Santa Maria Maggiore.
The burial inside the church will not be open to the public.
Crowds at the funeral applauded as the pontiff’s coffin was brought back into St Peter’s Basilica.
Attendees, who gathered in their thousands in St Peter’s Square with some bearing banners and signs, clapped as the casket was carried into the building after the open-air funeral mass.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have spoken about the war in Ukraine on the sidelines of the Pope’s funeral in Rome.
The US has been pressing Ukraine to accept a peace deal which would require Kyiv to accept Russian control of vast swathes of occupied land.
Mr Zelenskyy has insisted he will not recognise Russian sovereignty over Crimea, the region occupied by Moscow’s forces since 2014, nor continued Kremlin control in Ukraine’s south and east.
He has called for Vladimir Putin to instead accept an unconditional end to the fighting.
The Ukrainian leader and his American counterpart met ahead of Francis’s funeral, according to officials from both the White House and Kyiv.
White House communications director Steven Cheung said the pair “had a very productive discussion” when they met.
More details of the meeting are expected later on Saturday.
The communion rite has followed on from the liturgy of the Eucharist.
As we approach the end of the funeral mass, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will commend the pope’s soul to God and ask for consolation for the Roman Catholic church.
The pope’s coffin will be sprinkled with holy water and incense after more prayers.
The Vatican estimated 200,000 people had gathered at the start of the service in St Peter’s Square. Aerial views of the Vatican showed a patchwork of colours – black from the dark garb of the world’s leaders, red from the vestments of 250 cardinals, purple worn by some of the 400 bishops and white worn by 4,000 attending priests.
US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shook hands during the funeral of Pope Francis.
The leaders made the gesture when the congregation was invited to offer those around them a “sign of peace” – a traditional part of the Roman Catholic mass.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to receive a round of applause as he attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome.
The crowd of assembled world leaders could be heard clapping as the Ukrainian president left St Peter’s Basilica, where he had paid his respects in front of the pontiff’s coffin ahead of the funeral ceremony.
US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania were also among the leaders who filed past the Pope’s casket before the funeral.
He and Mr Zelenskyy met before the funeral and are expected to do so again afterwards, according to Ukrainian officials.
White House communications director Steven Cheung said the pair “had a very productive discussion” when they met.
President Michael D Higgins was joined by Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tanaiste Simon Harris in paying respects to the Pope inside St Peter’s.
The funeral began shortly after world leaders had taken their seats in the square.
Pope Francis was “a pope among the people” who “truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time”, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said.
Giving his homily in Italian, Cardinal Re said of the Pope: “He was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone.
“He was also a pope attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church, with his characteristic vocabulary and language rich in images and metaphors, he always sought to shed light on the problems of our time with the wisdom of the gospel.
The cardinal added: “He had great spontaneity and an informal way of addressing everyone, even those far from the Church. Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time.
“He gave of himself by comforting and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching people’s hearts in a direct and immediate way.
“His charisma of welcome and listening combined with a manner of behaviour in keeping with today’s sensitivities touched hearts and sought to reawaken moral and spiritual sensibilities.”
Francis “incessantly raised his voice” for peace and urged people to “build bridges not walls”, Cardinal Re added.
“Faced with the raging wars of recent years with their inhuman horrors and countless death and destruction.
“Pope Francis incessantly raised his voice, imploring peace and calling for reason and calling for honest negotiation to find possible solutions.
“War, he said, results in the death of people and the destruction of homes, hospitals and schools.
“War always, this is his own expression, war always leaves the world worse than it was before. It is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone.
“Build bridges, not walls, was an exaltation he repeated many times.”
The seating plan for international leaders at the funeral of Pope Francis is a delicate effort in diplomacy.
It has been described as a “master plan” in stage-managing the “big egos” of world leaders by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales.
Francis’s birth country of Argentina will take precedence in the seating arrangements.
Its delegation includes President Javier Milei, who was a vocal critic of the Pope before he became the nation’s head of state.
Italy will then follow, as the Pope is the bishop of Rome and leader of the nation’s Catholic bishops.
Thereafter, reigning sovereigns will be seated “in alphabetical order, but in French language”, followed by heads of state, and later heads of government – like Taoiseach Micheál Martin – and other representatives.
Pope Francis’s funeral mass has begun with the entrance antiphon – a selection of psalm verses or scripture passages that are traditionally sung or recited.
The 88-page order of service has been published on the Vatican’s website and contains the service in English, Italian and Latin.
Here is the entrance antiphon:
The coffin of Pope Francis has been brought out from St Peter’s Basilica into St Peter’s Square.
The simple wooden casket with a large cross on the top was carried outside by around a dozen men and placed on a platform in front of attendees.
President Michael D Higgins has paid his respects to the Pope in St Peter’s Basilica.
He was joined by Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris inside the great church, before the delegation headed out into St Peter’s Square to take their seats.
US president Donald Trump and his wife first lady Melania have arrived at St Peter’s Square before the funeral of Pope Francis.
The couple stopped in front of the Pope’s coffin to pay their respects.
British prime minister Keir Starmer has also paid his respects in front of Pope Francis’s coffin in St Peter’s Basilica.
He was joined by Prince William in the Vatican, as assembled world leaders filed past the pontiff.
The Vatican said on Thursday that at least 130 foreign delegations, including about “50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs”, would attend Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday.
Heads of state and government who have confirmed their attendance at the funeral include Taoiseach Micheál and Martin and President Michael D Higgins, as well as French president Emmanuel Macron, US president Donald Trump, British prime minister Keir Starmer and Javier Milei, the president of Pope Francis’s native Argentina.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said Francis “prayed for peace in Ukraine”, is to attend and has also arrived in Rome, however Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who is subject to an international criminal court arrest warrant over his invasion of Ukraine, will not attend, the Kremlin said.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and António Costa, the president of the European Council, will both travel to Rome, officials said.
The Vatican said on Friday that 150,000 people had already paid their respects to Pope Francis, whose body lay in state in St Peter’s Basilica ahead of his funeral.
Between 11am (10am Irish time) on Wednesday and midday on Friday, more than 150,000 people had filed past Francis’s body, a Vatican spokesperson said.
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