Thousands Gather for the Emotional Farewell to Pope Francis

( NewsNation — The burial ceremony for Pope Francis It occurred on Saturday in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, attracting approximately 200,000 individuals who came to say their goodbyes, as reported by the Vatican. The ceremony commenced at 4 a.m. EDT on Saturday, featuring prayers and hymns to start off the event.

Francis' body was displayed for three days at St. Peter’s Basilica starting from Wednesday.

Arrangements and proposals for his burial location were underway. simpler those of their predecessors.

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Farewell to Francis

People assembled in St. Peter’s Square for the funeral service as Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, aged 91, conducted the "Liturgical Readings," which included passages from sacred texts.

Dear Pope Francis, we now request your prayers," stated Re, who led the ceremony. "From up above, please bestow blessings upon our church. Bless Rome and grant your blessing to all corners of the globe just as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica.

Led the funeral Mass.

“War always leaves the world worse than it was before,” Re said as he detailed Francis’ life and moral values, saying he always maintained his temperament.

In what ways did Pope Francis' funeral differ from those of his predecessors?

Francis’ 2024 changes to burial rites for pontiffs paved the way for his more humble funeral and particular burial site, the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major. Located outside the Vatican, the basilica is home to Francis’ favorite icon of the Virgin Mary.

The first images of Francis’ body were released earlier this week after his death Monday. He was 88. Francis was placed in a wooden casket, in red vestments and with his bishop’s miter, with the Vatican secretary of state praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel, where he lived and died.

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Usually, popes have three nested coffins crafted from cypress wood, lead, and elm that are eventually placed inside one another and interred in the Vatican grottoes below St. Peter’s Basilica.

Francis, under the renewed rite, opted to be buried in just one coffin: a wooden casket lined with zinc. Francis’ singular coffin was not placed on an elevated bier, as is custom; his coffin, instead, simply faced the basilica’s pews.

Who attended Pope Francis’ funeral?

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived at the funeral shortly before the service began at 10 a.m. local time.

Former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Dr. Jill Biden also attended the beginning of the event.

Argentine President Javier Milei and Prince William were part of the attendees. The 42-year-old who was a member Britain’s royal family multiple outlets reported that they attended the funeral in Vatican City as representatives for King Charles III.

William, successor to the British crown , has customarily represented the monarch at funerals, according to Vanity Fair.

The office of Polish President Andrzej Duda Duda was slated to participate in the ceremony. Additionally, Poland announced that Saturday would be observed as a National Day of Mourning for the funeral.

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The subsequent global dignitaries were present at the memorial service:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
• Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva along with his spouse, First Lady Janja Lula de Silva
• French President Emmanuel Macron
• German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier along with departing Chancellor Olaf Scholz
• Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok
• The Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, alongside Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni,
• Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics
• Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda
• Romania’s acting President Ilie Bolojan
• Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia
• Switzerland’s President Karin Keller-Sutter
• Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council President Antonio Costa, and Parliament President Roberta Metsola
• President José Ramos-Horta of East Timor, along with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Bendito Freitas,
• Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, along with Prime Minister Bart De Wever,

Vice President JD Vance was absent He met with Francis briefly on Easter Sunday, the day prior to the pope's death.

When and how did Pope Francis pass away?

Francis, the 266th leader of the Roman Catholic Church , died one day after Easter almost a month following his discharge from the hospital.

His cause of death was due to a cerebrovascular accident that resulted in a coma and irreparable cardiac arrest, as stated by the Vatican. Francis was hospitalized in February , spending five weeks battling double pneumonia that necessitated high-flow oxygen and blood transfusions.

What occurs following Pope Francis’s funeral?

The pope’s death sets off the formal process to select his successor, known as a conclave .

The term conclave originates from the Latin "com," which means "together," and "clavis," meaning "lock." This denotes the custom where Catholic cardinals assemble behind closed doors to elect the successor to the papacy.

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the conclave typically takes place approximately 15 to 20 days after the death or resignation of a pope.

Because of political unrest, it took over two years to select Pope Gregory X in 1271. In order to prevent lengthy papal elections from happening again, Gregory X mandated that the cardinals must stay confined until they had chosen a new pope.

Only cardinals under the age of 80 are permitted to take part in the secret and anonymous electoral process.

In terms regarding a replacement for Francis , there are several frontrunners —or "papabile" — including Cardinals Peter Erdö, Reinhard Marx, Luis Tagle, Marc Ouellet, and Robert Sarah, among others.

NewsNation’s Anna Kutz , Ashley N. Soriano , Patrick Djordjevic The Associated Press also contributed to this report.

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