Some mourners spent the night sleeping in the streets near the Vatican and began lining up at dawn on Saturday in St. Peter’s Square to bid farewell to Pope Francis. Hours later, world leaders took their seats in rows near an altar set up in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The scene was fitting for the funeral of a head of state, with red-robed cardinals, royalty, and dignitaries attending the open-air Mass. However, many attendees also came to pay their respects to a pope who had dedicated over a decade to defending marginalized communities.
“More than a pope, he was a fatherly figure for us migrants,” said Virginia Munos Ramires, an El Salvador native, as she held onto a railing in St. Peter’s Square under the sun. “He represented Latinos, immigrants — he was a reference for all of us.”
Among the mourners, some wore suits, while others donned blue and white soccer jerseys from Francis’ native Argentina or traditional Polish garments, as well as colorful cloths from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Many broke into applause when Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, officiating the Mass, recalled in his homily that the pope’s first trip was to Lampedusa, a southern Italian island symbolizing the influx of migrants to Europe over the past decade.
Pope Francis was “giving himself without measure, especially to the marginalized,” Cardinal Re stated, standing near a giant statue of St. Peter, the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
With gulls crying overhead and helicopters flying above, the crowd remained largely silent as readings in Latin, Italian, and other languages echoed in the square.
Despite the ceremony's grandeur, the atmosphere resembled that of a stadium concert, with the Mass taking place on a distant stage. The experience felt intimate due to giant screens and a resonant speaker system.
At one point, cameras focused on a small detail from the pope’s coffin, highlighting the solemnity of the occasion. Another moment captured President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine walking to his seat, which prompted applause from the crowd.
The magnificence of the surroundings captivated attendees, as the piazza, arranged around the Vatican obelisk, is flanked by enormous colonnades adorned with sculptures silhouetted against the sky.
Among the mourners were Catholics from regions Francis had actively reached out to. Many, like a retired grocery store owner from Genoa, expressed that Francis felt like a “normal person.” One banner read, “The world you loved is here today to say thank you.”
Francesca Butros, a nun from Egypt, rushed to the piazza to secure her spot. She prayed that Pope Francis would alleviate her knee pain so she could attend the funeral. Although she made it, another nun suffered an ankle injury on the subway.
Epiphana Lubangula, a nurse from Tanzania, remarked, “We are here from the West to the East,” expressing hope that “the powerful who are here today will treasure Francis’ message.”
The Rev. Caesar Htoo Ko Ko, a priest from Myanmar, noted that since the pope’s 2017 visit, people in his country finally have “an image of what a Catholic is.”
While media attention shifted to a meeting between Mr. Zelensky and President Trump in the basilica before the funeral, many mourners remained focused on bidding farewell to the pope.
“He was like family,” said Colette Sandjon, a Cameroon native who traveled from Paris and spent the night standing in a Vatican City side street to secure her spot at the funeral. “When he spoke to me, it’s as if he was speaking to the whole of Africa,” she added, her eyes reddened from lack of sleep.
As the ceremony neared its conclusion and the midday heat intensified, many attendees who had been standing since dawn began to sit, while others fanned themselves with the funeral program booklet.
With Pope Francis laid to rest, Catholics began to contemplate the future. Some expressed concern over who would advocate for the voiceless now that their prominent champion was gone, while others hoped that the emphasis on charity and pastoral work over church doctrine would continue.
The Rev. Joseph Jaros from the Czech Republic shared that he agreed with Francis on the need for church change but emphasized that it should align with tradition. “The world is changing a lot, but the church should not change too much,” he stated.
Ms. Munos Ramires expressed concern for the pope’s message, saying, “As migrants we are worried. We hope we’ll get another advocate.”
After the Mass concluded, the cardinals descended the basilica’s staircase in a cascade of red, and the crowd gradually dispersed. An eerie silence lingered in the piazza outside the basilica.