Thousands of mourners bid farewell to Pope Francis. Follow live updates. - The Boston Globe (2025)

Associated Press

Cardinals have performed the rite of burial for Pope Francis at his simple tomb inside Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica.

The burial ceremony Saturday was private, attended by top cardinals and people close to the pope.

Video provided by the Vatican showed Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is running the Vatican in between papacies, blessing Francis’ coffin before it is interred.

The pope chose the basilica because of his devotion to the Salus Populi Romani icon of the Virgin Mary, which is located next to his tomb.

By the Associated Press

Young people from around the world had come to Rome expecting to rejoice this weekend in the canonization of Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint during the Vatican’s Holy Year.

They ended up bidding farewell to Pope Francis instead.

One attendee said Francis “always said you have to be joyful about life, you have to live life in a similar way.”

Even those who were disappointed by the suspended canonization were gratified that they could celebrate Francis, loved by many for his humility and concern for the poor.

By the Associated Press

Tens of thousands of mourners attended the funeral Mass for Francis at a seaside park near East Timor’s capital of Dili.

Francis made a historic visit to the overwhelmingly Catholic Southeast Asian country in September 2024, drawing over 600,000 people at the main event.

By the Associated Press

One of the migrants who met Pope Francis’ coffin at his place of burial said that Francis understood the difficulties faced by people who left their native countries.

Annamaria Martinez of Venezuela said “Francis always looked at the best part of every person.‘’ She burst into tears as she said, “He was unique and I’m so sad now.‘’

The 53-year-old said she hoped that Francis’ good work would continue. She was among 40 migrants, prisoners, homeless and transgender people organized by the Sant’Egidio and Caritas charities to meet the pope’s coffin to underline the care he took for the marginalized.

By the Associated Press

Pope Francis’ coffin was met by bishops and top cardinals in St. Mary Major Basilica, where he will be buried in a private ceremony later Saturday.

Pallbearers paused before the icon of the Madonna that Francis revered in a final salute, and four children lay white roses at the altar of the chapel that contains the icon. The pallbearers then continued with the coffin toward the niche where Francis will be buried beneath a simple tombstone bearing his name in Latin.

The Vatican media footage returned to the icon and then to the basilica’s exterior to allow the burial to proceed in private.

By the Associated Press

Pope Francis’ coffin has arrived at St. Mary Major Basilica, where he will be buried in a private ceremony later Saturday.

It was met by about 40 migrants, prisoners, homeless and transgender people each holding a white rose. Their inclusion was emblematic of his care for the marginalized. Francis is the first pope to be buried outside of the Vatican in 100 years.

By the Associated Press

In keeping with Francis’ embrace of the marginalized, the Vatican said a group of poor and needy people will meet the pope’s coffin to pay homage to him when it arrives at St. Mary Major Basilica for burial on Saturday. It has already become a point of pilgrimage.

The tomb is being prepared behind a wooden barrier within the basilica that he chose to be near an icon of the Madonna that he revered and often prayed before. The burial will take place in private, the Vatican said.

Photos released by the Vatican on Friday show the marble tombstone flat against the pavement, with the simple engraving in Latin that he requested in his last testament: “Franciscus.”

By the Associated Press

The motorcade for the pope’s coffin is continuing through Rome’s historic center, where the crowds have thickened.

People were on the steps of the Tomb of the Unknown soldier to catch a glimpse of the papal coffin. It continued past the ancient Roman Forum and Colosseum, to applause and shouts of “Il Papa!” (the pope).

By the Associated Press

Crowds applauded and yelled “Papa Francesco!” as a slow-moving motorcade escorting the pope’s coffin to his final resting place left the Vatican to make its way across Rome.

The coffin was visible from atop a modified popemobile. There was more clapping and church bells rang out as the popemobile emerged from a tunnel and crossed the Tiber River.

The popemobile was flanked by police on motorcycles.

By the Associated Press

The coffin is being carried on the back of a popemobile modified so mourners lining streets can view it. The 6-kilometer (3.5-mile) route crosses the Tiber River and passes Italy’s monumental Tomb of the Unknown soldier, the ancient Roman Forum and the Colosseum before reaching the basilica.

The coffin will be met by about 40 migrants, prisoners, and homeless and transgender people, reflecting the pontiff’s care for people who are marginalized.

By the Associated Press

Pope Francis’ funeral Mass has ended, and cardinals have filed back into St. Peter’s Cathedral.

The crowd applauded as white-gloved pallbearers lifted the pope’s coffin to bring it back inside the basilica. From there, it will be moved to the popemobile to make its way across Rome to Francis’ burial place in St. Mary Major.

By the Associated Press

A litany of saints was sung out during the funeral Mass for Pope Francis, a meditative chant that is part of the traditional rites.

It was followed by a blessing from Eastern rite Catholic churches chanted in Greek by patriarchs and priests. The pages of the New Testament placed atop the coffin fluttered in the wind as Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re blessed the coffin with incense and holy water.

By the Associated Press

The prince attended the funeral on behalf of his father, King Charles III.

He stood side by side with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for a moment’s silence in front of Pope Francis’s sealed coffin.

William, dressed in a dark blue suit and black tie, walked through the ornate basilica and down the steps into St. Peter’s Square, before shaking hands with a member of the clergy and being guided to his seat.

He is carrying out his most significant duty so far as heir to the throne. It is the first time the prince has represented the monarch at an international funeral.

By the Associated Press

While popes often tinker with the rules regulating the conclave that elects their successor, a revision of the papal funeral rites hadn’t been undertaken since 2000.

The changes became necessary after Francis expressed his own wishes, and after Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI died on Dec. 31, 2022. For Benedict, the Vatican had to work out the novelty of a funeral for the first retired pope in 600 years.

A few months later, Francis revealed he was working with the Vatican’s master of liturgical ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, to overhaul the entire book of rites to simplify them.

In explaining the reforms, Ravelli said the changes aimed “to emphasize even more that the Roman Pontiff’s funeral is that of a pastor and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful man of this world.”

By the Associated Press

Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, were led out of St. Peter’s Basilica to their seats for the service.

By the Associated Press

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re eulogized Pope Francis on Saturday as a pope of the people, a paster who knew how to communicate to the “least among us” with an informal, spontaneous style.

Re called Francis “a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone.”

He recalled the last image many people have of Francis was of him delivering what would become his final blessing on Easter Sunday, and saluting from the popemobile in the same piazza where his funeral was being celebrated.

By the Associated Press

The brief statement did not specify if that was in St. Peter’s Square alone.

Mourners were lined up along Via della Conciliazione, which leads up to the Vatican, and followed the Mass on big screens in public squares in Rome, including outside the Santa Maria Major Basilica.

By the Associated Press

That’s according to Zelenskyy’s press office.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung confirmed the meeting and said they “met privately today and had a very productive discussion.”

“More details about the meeting will follow,” he said.

Shortly after arriving in Rome last Friday, Trump said on social media that Ukraine and Russia should meet for “very high-level talks” on ending the three-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Friday, and Trump said both sides were “very close to a deal.”

By the Associated Press

Tens of thousands flocked to the funeral, which Francis choreographed himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s rites and rituals last year.