Pope Francis: Funeral service in Rome attracts 140,000 people!

Pope Francis: Funeral service in Rome attracts 140,000 people!

The funeral fair for the late Pope Francis took place on Saturday morning, April 26, 2025, on St. Peter's Square in Rome. Shaked by his death on Easter Monday at the age of 88, at least 140,000 people gathered on St. Peter's Square and the surrounding streets to pay him the last honor. Among those present were over 140 delegations from different countries, including prominent heads of state such as US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden.

Trump, accompanied by his wife Melania, came through a back entrance and originally took a seat in the third row. However, due to short -term permission, he was allowed to sit at the front. Biden, who appeared with his wife Jill for the funeral service, was not part of the official American delegation. Among the international guests were also the Argentine President Javier Milei and the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj, whose participation was initially uncertain.

Ceremonial details and mourning signs

The funeral ceremony began at 10:12 a.m. when Pope Francis coffin was solemnly carried from St. Peter's Basilica. The Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re headed the fair, while the Pope's body was promoted in a converted papamobile by Rome to give the believers the opportunity to say goodbye. Around 250,000 people said goodbye to him in the three days of giving up in St. Peter's Basilica before the coffin was closed in a private ceremony on Friday evening. Pope Francis is not buried in St. Peter's Basilica at his own request, but in a simple grave in the basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, which has made him the first Pope for over a century that did not find his last rest in St. Peter's Basilica.

Cardinal Farrell is guided by the burial, and a simple tombstone with the inscription "Franciscus" is to be built for the dad. After the funeral, nine mourning days are planned in which trade fairs are celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica every day. In the Vatican, the conclave will begin to choose the new Pope between May 5 and 10.

The security measures during the funeral service were enormous, and the event was broadcast live by numerous media, including ZDF. Guests from 170 countries, as well as representatives of international organizations, were present to say goodbye to one of the most influential heads of the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller warned of ideological thinking in the context of the upcoming pope election and emphasized the need for unity within the church.