Throngs of mourners are gathering in Vatican City and lining the streets of Rome on Saturday to give a final send-off to Pope Francis, who will be remembered as a champion of migrants and the poor, and for his efforts to reshape the Catholic Church.
His funeral Mass is being held on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, one of the Catholic Church’s most important sites, with more than 50 world leaders and 11 reigning monarchs in attendance. They are expected to include US President Donald Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Filipino President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., head of the largest Catholic nation in Asia.
The Vatican has prepared for as many as 250,000 people to flock to St. Peter’s Square and one million more to line the 6-kilometer (3.7 mile) procession route from Vatican City through Rome to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, in hopes of seeing the pope’s modest coffin as it travels to his final resting place.
Many more of world’s 1.4 billion Catholics will watch the funeral for the first Latin American pope on TV.
Pope Francis died at the age of 88 after suffering a stroke on Easter Monday, just one day after he appeared in the same square to offer a blessing to the faithful at the high point of the Christian calendar.
In the days that followed, about 250,000 mourners came to pay their final respects as his body lay in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica. His coffin was officially sealed on Friday night in a liturgical rite led by the Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell, the acting head of the church.
As daylight gleams off the massive travertine columns of St. Peter’s Square on Saturday morning, the funeral Mass will open with the chant, sung in Latin: “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.”
A Bible reading will be given in English, and a “Prayer of the Faithful” will be offered up in multiple other languages, including French, Arabic, Portuguese, Polish, German and for the first time, Mandarin, fitting for a pope who sought to reach out to followers in all parts of the globe.
In keeping with tradition, the Mass will include a homily and communion and end with a final commendation and farewell. Francis approved the order of the day for Saturday back in June 2024.
But other elements of the day will be pared back, as Francis had sought to “simplify and adapt” proceedings, so that the papal funeral is “that of a pastor and disciple of Christ, and not of a powerful person in this world,” according to Vatican officials.
Francis, who chose his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, with his commitment to poverty, peace and nature, also wanted to reflect his own dedication to the homeless and disadvantaged in the day’s events.
He believed “the poor have a privileged place in the heart of God,” a Holy See statement said. “For this reason, a group of poor and needy people will be present on the steps leading to the papal Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore to pay their last respects to Pope Francis before the burial of his coffin.”
They will be the last members of the public to see his wooden coffin, after it’s driven slowly through the streets of Rome – past tourist highlights like the Piazza Venezia and the ancient Colosseum – in his final procession.
Francis will become the first pope in more than three centuries to be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore, with the interment taking place away from the public eye.
He was a pope of many firsts – the first Latin American Pontiff, the first of the Jesuit order and the first modern-day pope born outside of Europe.
Elected in 2013 as an outsider candidate from Argentina, Francis went on to usher in progressive reforms, including the promotion of women’s roles in the church.
But his 12-year leadership was not without criticism. He took some important steps to address the Catholic Church’s clerical sexual abuse scandals, but campaigners and survivors say there is still much more to do.
Divisions within the Church over same-sex relationships also persisted throughout his papacy. When asked about his position on sexual orientation, the pope famously said, “Who am I to judge?” but also reaffirmed the Church’s position that homosexuality is considered sinful.
And his record was disparaged by some of the more conservative cardinals and members of the Church.
Francis issued a rebuke of the Trump administration’s immigration policy earlier this year, and criticized Vice President JD Vance’s use of theology to defend its approach. Vance was one of the last people to meet with the pope, in a brief encounter on Easter Sunday.
The next pope will be chosen by cardinals from around the world in conclave, a closed-door process that may see a battle play out between those who want to continue Pope Francis’ progressive path and those who want to reverse it.
“He made some good changes in the Church. I think the Church is now more open,” said Laura Grund, from Leipzig, Germany, who was among the last people to see the late pope lying in state. “He opened many doors.”
“He was a very simple man, who loved other people,” said Sister Luisa, a nun from Munich. “We feel very blessed, but also deep sorrow.”