Pope Francis laid to rest

The coffin of Pope Francis is carried inside St. Mary Major Basilica for his burial ceremony, in Rome, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — World dignitaries and Catholic faithful attended Pope Francis’ funeral in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday.
Despite the presence of presidents and princes, prisoners and migrants met Francis’ coffin outside St. Mary Major Basilica, where he was buried, reflecting his priorities as pope.
U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, the U.N. chief and European Union leaders, as well as Prince William and the Spanish royal family, were among hundreds of thousands who attended the funeral Mass.
Francis broke with recent tradition and was buried in the basilica outside the Vatican in a simple underground tomb carrying his name in Latin, Franciscus.
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.
Pallbearers paused before the icon of the Madonna that Francis revered in a final salute, and four children laid 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.
Roman Catholic faithful began visiting the tomb of Pope Francis on Sunday, filing past the simple white tomb in St. Mary Major Basilica a day after he was bade farewell by the powerful of the world and a crowd of hundreds of thousands.
A single white rose was placed on the tomb. A light cast its warm glow over the tomb and a reproduction of the late pontiff’s pectoral cross on the wall above it.
Rosario Correale, from Salerno, Italy, said that he experienced “great emotion” at witnessing Francis’ final resting place.
“I see all the people are truly moved,” Correale said. “He has truly left a mark on us.”
People filed past, many crossing themselves or snapping photos with their phones. Ushers urged them to keep moving to accommodate the thousands who flocked to the Rome basilica to see the tomb, forming a long line outside.
Later in the day, a group of cardinals arrived in buses and entered through the church doors to pay homage to Francis at his tomb, and for an evening vespers service.
The tomb was opened on the second of nine days of official mourning for Francis, after which a conclave will be held to elect the next pope.
“Pope Francis for me was an inspiration, a guide,” said Elias Caravalhal.
Caravalhal lives in Rome, but was unable to pay his respects to Francis when the body was lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica after his death on Easter Monday at the age of 88. He said that he visited the tomb “to thank him for what he has done.”
A special Mass was also celebrated in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, until recently the Vatican’s secretary of state. Parolin is considered a possible contender to be the next pope because of his prominence in the Catholic hierarchy.
“The shepherd whom the Lord gave to his people, Pope Francis, has ended his earthly life and has left us,” Parolin said in his homily, delivered on the first Sunday after Easter. “The grief at his departure, the sense of sadness that assails us, the turmoil we feel in our hearts, the sense of bewilderment: We are experiencing all of this, like the apostles grieving over the death of Jesus.”
The Mass was attended by a crowd estimated at 200,000, among them many young people who originally came to Rome for what was supposed to be the canonization of the first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis, during special holy days devoted to teenagers. Many groups of youths, some in scouting uniforms, attended Francis’ funeral Saturday and again filled St. Peter’s Square on Sunday.
No date has yet been set for the conclave, but it’s expected to start between May 5 and May 10. Cardinals who traveled to Rome for Francis’ funeral will be meeting regularly this week ahead of the conclave as they start to chart a way forward for the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church.
Francis chose his place of burial in St. Mary Major Basilica, near an icon of the Madonna that he revered, because it reflects his “humble, simple and essential” life, the archbishop who administers the basilica said Friday.
“Being able to see the pope and his tombstone today, it was really beautiful,” said Amaya Morris, a tourist from Los Angeles. “I thought it was amazing that he wanted to be buried here in this basilica. Out of all of the ones, he chose this one.”