Pope Francis recalled as pontiff ‘with an open heart’ at funeral Mass
World leaders joined an estimated 200,000 mourners in St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis was remembered Saturday as “a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone” at his funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
In his homily at the April 26 funeral Mass, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, said that Pope Francis made an immediate impact on the Church’s governance after his election in 2013.
“He established direct contact with individuals and peoples, eager to be close to everyone, with a marked attention to those in difficulty, giving himself without measure, especially to the marginalized, the least among us,” he said.
“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.”
At 10 a.m. Rome time, 14 pallbearers carried Pope Francis’ wooden and zinc coffin, sealed the night before, down the nave of St. Peter’s Basilica, past a long line of cardinals. The Choir of the Sistine Chapel sang as the pallbearers placed the coffin before the altar on the parvis of St. Peter’s Basilica.
A Book of the Gospels was opened on top of the pope’s coffin, which was inscribed with a large cross and Francis’ coat of arms. Unlike at the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II, where the pages fluttered amid strong winds, the pages lay flat until the end of the Mass, when they were lifted by a gentle breeze.
Most of the world’s 252 cardinals were present, along with multitudes of bishops, priests, deacons, and religious. The cardinals wore white damask miters, while the bishops wore miters in plain white, in a packed, brightly sunlit St. Peter’s Square.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, was present, as were other ecumenical representatives.
Churchmen were joined by world leaders, largely dressed in black, including U.S. President Donald Trump, his predecessor Joe Biden, Britain’s Prince of Wales, Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met with Trump in the basilica before the funeral Mass.
At least 130 countries and international organizations sent delegations, including 12 reigning monarchs, 55 heads of state, and 14 heads of government.
Also present were an estimated 200,000 mourners, some of whom had lined up since 9:45 p.m. the night before for a place in the square.
Pope Francis approved revisions last year to the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis (Rite of Burial of the Roman Pontiff), the liturgical book containing the papal funeral rites.
Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, said in November 2024 that Pope Francis wished “to simplify and adapt certain rites so that the celebration of the funeral of the Bishop of Rome may better express the faith of the Church in the Risen Christ.”
Addressing the College of Cardinals at their fourth general congregation April 25, Ravelli said the Mass would be the funeral of a shepherd, not a sovereign.
In his homily, Cardinal Re referred to the estimated 250,000 people who paid their last respects to Pope Francis as he lay in state in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“The outpouring of affection that we have witnessed in recent days following his passing from this earth into eternity tells us how much the profound pontificate of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts,” the 91-year-old Italian said.
“The final image we have of him, which will remain etched in our memory, is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. He then came down to this square to greet the large crowd gathered for the Easter Mass while riding in the open-top popemobile.”
“With our prayers, we now entrust the soul of our beloved Pontiff to God, that he may grant him eternal happiness in the bright and glorious gaze of his immense love.”
Re suggested that Francis set the tone for his papacy by adopting the name of the saint of Assisi.
“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,” he said.
“He did so by offering a response guided by the light of faith and encouraging us to live as Christians amid the challenges and contradictions in recent years, which he loved to describe as an ‘epochal change.’”
“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 of globalization. He gave of himself by comforting and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching people’s hearts in a direct and immediate way.”
Re, who wore large gold spectacles and read the homily from sheets of paper held tightly in his hands, said Pope Francis had a “charisma of welcome and listening” that “touched hearts and sought to reawaken moral and spiritual sensibilities.”
“Evangelization was the guiding principle of his pontificate. With a clear missionary vision, he spread the joy of the Gospel, which was the title of his first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii gaudium. It is a joy that fills the hearts of all those who entrust themselves to God with confidence and hope,” Re recalled.
“The guiding thread of his mission was also the conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open,” Re said, emphasizing the words by moving his right hand forcefully up and down.
“He often used the image of the Church as a ‘field hospital’ after a battle in which many were wounded; a Church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world apart; a Church capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds.”
The cardinal highlighted Pope Francis’ advocacy for refugees and the poor, and his “arduous” foreign travels, including to war-scarred Iraq in 2021 and Asia and Oceania in September 2024, when the pope was largely confined to a wheelchair.
“Pope Francis always placed the Gospel of mercy at the center, repeatedly emphasizing that God never tires of forgiving us. He always forgives, whatever the situation might be of the person who asks for forgiveness and returns to the right path,” Re said.
The dean of the College of Cardinals noted Pope Francis’ criticism of the “culture of waste,” and promotion of the “culture of encounter and solidarity,” citing his 2019 trip to the United Arab Emirates, where he signed a landmark Document on Human Fraternity, and his 2015 environmental encyclical Laudato si’.
“Faced with the raging wars of recent years, with their inhuman horrors and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis incessantly raised his voice imploring peace and calling for reason and honest negotiation to find possible solutions,” Re observed, raising his voice.
“War, he said, results in the death of people and the destruction of homes, hospitals and schools. War always leaves the world worse than it was before: it is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone.”
Re added: “‘Build bridges, not walls’ was an exhortation he repeated many times, and his service of faith as Successor of the Apostle Peter always was linked to the service of humanity in all its dimensions. Spiritually united with all of Christianity, we are here in large numbers to pray for Pope Francis, that God may welcome him into the immensity of his love.”
As the crowd applauded at the recollection of Pope Francis’ peace efforts, Re noted the Argentine pontiff typically ended addresses with a request that people pray for him.
“Dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us,” he said. “May you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world from heaven as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica in a final embrace with all the people of God, but also embrace humanity that seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds high the torch of hope.”
The first reading at the funeral Mass, in English, was Acts 10:34-43, from Peter’s speech at Caesarea to the Roman centurion Cornelius and his household, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was followed by Psalm 23, and the second reading, in Spanish, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (3: 20-4:1), about Christians’ citizenship in heaven.
The Gospel reading, John 21:15-19, was the Restoration of Peter, in which the Risen Christ asked the apostle three times if he loved him, before re-commissioning him and referring to Peter’s death.
The prayers of the faithful were read in French, Arabic, Portuguese, Polish, German, and Chinese — the last perhaps a nod to Pope Francis’ efforts to improve Vatican-Beijing relations.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist was celebrated in Latin. Due to the vast number of mourners, there was no distribution of Holy Communion in large parts of St. Peter’s Square.
At the end of the Mass, the final commendation (ultima commendatio) and farewell (valedictio) took place.
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the vicar general for the Diocese of Rome, led the Prayer of the Church in Rome, which invoked a multitude of saints.
Leaders of Eastern Catholic Churches then approached the coffin to offer a prayer from the Funeral Office of the Byzantine Liturgy.
Finally, Cardinal Re sprinkled the coffin with holy water and censed it.
Following the Mass, Pope Francis’ coffin was carried back into St. Peter’s Basilica, from where it will be transported to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for burial, in accordance with the Argentine pope’s 2022 testament.
The vehicle carrying the pope’s body to St. Mary Major was expected to depart via the Vatican’s Perugino Gate, without passing through St. Peter’s Square. The procession across Rome is unprecedented in modern times. Large crowds were expected to line the Eternal City’s streets.
The coffin will be greeted at St. Mary Major by a group of poor and marginalized people. Papal almoner Cardinal Konrad Krajewski distributed thousands of rosaries with Pope Francis’ coat arms to homeless people in Rome on the eve of the papal funeral.
The coffin will then be taken to the basilica’s altar. The burial will occur in private.
During the interment ceremony, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will mark the coffin with his seal, as well as those of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, and the Liberian Chapter, which consists of the basilica’s cardinal-archpriest, Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, and 12 canons appointed by the pope.
The pope’s body will be laid in a tomb set in a niche in a side aisle of the basilica. The tomb is made from marble from Liguria, the Italian region from which Pope Francis’ ancestors came, and bears one word, “Franciscus” (Francis).
After the Regina caeli prayer is recited, the chapter’s notary will create an official act confirming the pope’s burial. The document will be read aloud and signed by the Camerlengo, the Regent of the Papal Household, Msgr. Leonardo Sapienza, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations, Archbishop Ravelli, and the notary.
The papal funeral Mass was the first of nine daily Masses that will take place at St. Peter’s during the Novendiali mourning period, ending May 4.
A conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will begin 15 to 20 days after the pope’s April 21 death, at the age of 88.
The livestream of the Mass on the Vatican News YouTube channel was beautiful (and free of technical glitches)... the post-Mass livestream is super choppy alas (edit: stable again at the destination.)
The “representative of the Eastern Catholic Churches” who is pictured incensing the Pope’s coffin, is the Melkite Greek-Catholic Patriarch; Patriarch Yousef Absi.