Tens of hundreds of individuals packed St Peter’s Sq. for the funeral of Pope Francis earlier than his physique was carried by means of the streets of Rome.
Royals, world leaders and cardinals joined scores of worshippers at The Vatican, as mourning of the 266th pontiff transcended wealth and social class.
In line with Francis’s life as a breaker of custom, lots of the extra elaborate and costly rituals customary for the burial of popes have been foregone in favour of less complicated choices.
Round 250,000 individuals are attending the funeral, with round 50,000 packing out St Peter’s Sq. to look at the service earlier than the coffin bearing the pontiff started its journey by means of the streets of the Italian capital.
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2:24
Pope’s coffin carried out as funeral begins
His physique had been mendacity in state since his loss of life aged 88 on Easter Monday, spending the previous few days in St Peter’s Basilica to permit mourners to pay their respects.
The Vatican – the place the funeral service occurred – and Rome – the place Francis will likely be laid to relaxation – are below heavy safety, with a no-fly zone in place overhead.
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The coffin of Pope Francis is borne aloft by pallbearers. Pic: Reuters
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Members of the clergy gathered to say farewell to their pontiff. Pic: Reuters
President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, together with Sir Keir Starmer, President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, headline an enormous number of world leaders and dignitaries.
Francis’s coffin was taken out into St Peter’s Sq. the place 220 cardinals and 750 bishops and clergymen sat in rows, ready to say goodbye to the Bishop of Rome.
The pontiff eschewed the frilly coffins utilized by lots of his predecessors, opting as an alternative for a easy wood casket lined with zinc – a mirrored image of his efforts to reform the papacy and construct “a poor church for the poor”.
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2:27
Singing rings out at The Vatican
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Members of the clergy stand in St Peter’s Sq.. Pic: Reuters
A collection of sermons and prayers started with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re studying the Penitential Act – a means for the devoted to admit their sinfulness.
This was adopted by the Liturgy of the Phrase, a component in Catholic mass the place devoted collect to listen to and replicate on the phrase of God.
Cardinal Re then delivered the homily, talking about Pope Francis’ life and repair to God.
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1:21
Pope Francis ‘incessantly raised his voice’ towards wars
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Rows of mourners within the sq. in entrance of the Basilica. Pic: Reuters
The cardinal praised the pontiff as somebody who “touched the minds and hearts of people” who was “attentive to the signs of the times”.
He added: “Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life.”
He stated Francis “was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone”.
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The coffin of Pope Francis lies on the bottom in St. Peter’s Sq.. Pic: AP
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Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re blesses Francis’s coffin
Cardinal Re additionally repeated one in every of Francis’s strongest criticisms of President Trump – who was within the viewers – with a name to “build bridges, not walls”.
He additionally known as for look after migrants and motion on local weather change.
Because the service in entrance of St Peter’s Basilica drew to an in depth, Cardinal Re blessed the pope’s coffin with holy water.
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Tens of hundreds pack St Peter’s Sq. for the funeral. Pic: AP
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Clergy seated through the funeral. Pic: AP
On the finish of the mass, the choir sang in Latin: “May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come and welcome you and take you into the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem.”
The coffin was then carried again into St Peter’s Basilica by means of the ‘doorways of loss of life’, as a 10-ton funeral bell tolled.
Pope Francis’s physique then left the basilica aboard a white truck and was taken in procession by means of the streets of Rome to his closing resting place at his favorite church, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
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The popemobile carries the coffin of Pope Francis to Santa Maria Maggiore. Pic: Reuters
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Worshippers exterior the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Pic: Reuters
There have been cheers and applause from the general public on both aspect of the roads because the popemobile handed them.
Upon arrival, Pope Francis’s physique will likely be ushered into the basilica – which is devoted to the Virgin Mary – by prisoners and migrants, a final reflection of his priorities as pope.
In a break with custom, the Pope outlined in his will his request to be buried “in the ground, without particular ornamentation” however merely with the inscription “Franciscus”.
