.jpg)
ShareROME: Hundreds of thousands of mourners joined world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, to bid farewell Saturday to Pope Francis, a champion of the poor who strived to forge a more compassionate Catholic church. The Vatican said 400,000 people packed St Peter’s Square and lined the streets of Rome for the funeral of the first Latin American leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
After a solemn funeral, the Argentine pontiff’s plain wooden coffin — a testament to a life of humility — was driven slowly to Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore church, where he was interred in a private ceremony. Cardinals marked his coffin with red wax seals before it was lowered into a tomb set inside an alcove, according to images released by the Vatican.
Fourteen white-gloved pallbearers carried the coffin into the church, as children placed baskets of flowers at the altar and a choir sang prayers. The marble tomb is inscribed with just one word: “Franciscus”, his papal name in Latin. Trump was among more than 50 heads of state at the funeral. He met several world leaders in a corner of the St Peter’s basilica before, notably Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, in their first face-to-face meeting since their Oval Office clash in February. Trump later cast doubt on whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin wants a peace deal.
Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, was “a pope among the people, with an open heart”, who strove for a more compassionate, open-minded Catholic Church, said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re who led the service. There was applause from the masses gathered under bright blue skies as he hailed the pope’s “conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open”.
Francis sought to steer the Church into a more inclusive direction during his 12-year-long papacy, and his death prompted a global outpouring of emotion. Italian and Vatican authorities mounted a major security operation for the ceremony, with fighter jets on standby and snipers positioned on roofs surrounding the tiny city state. Red-robed cardinals and purple-hatted bishops sat on one side of the altar in St Peter’s Square during the funeral, with world dignitaries sitting opposite. In front of the altar lay the pope’s simple cypress coffin, inlaid with a pale cross.
The funeral set off nine days of official Vatican mourning for Francis, who took over following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013. After the mourning, cardinals aged under 80 will elect a new pope from among their number. Making the first foreign trip of his second term, Trump sat among leaders, many of them keen to bend his ear over a trade war he unleashed, among other subjects.
The White House on Saturday said that the president had a “very productive” meeting with Zelensky before the funeral. Kyiv published a photo of the encounter, the two men sitting face to face in red and gold chairs in the basilica, as well as another showing Zelensky huddled with Trump, Britain’s Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden also attended the funeral, alongside UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Lebanon’s Joseph Aoun. China, which does not have formal relations with the Vatican, did not send any representatives.
Zelensky said they discussed a possible unconditional ceasefire with Russia and was “hoping for results” from a “very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic”. After leaving Rome, Trump indicated a new approach to the Russian president. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” The war cast a shadow over Francis’ funeral. As it took place, Russia claimed its forces had “fully liberated” the border Kursk region. Ukraine insisted however that its army was still fighting in Kursk, Russian territory which it hopes to use as a bargaining chip in any future peace talks.
Trump and Zelensky sat face-to-face, leaning forward in deep discussion in a corner of the basilica, as the pope’s wooden coffin lay in front of the altar before the funeral began, according to images released by the Ukrainian presidency. “We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out,” Zelensky wrote on X.
An aide to Zelensky described the meeting as “constructive” and the White House called it “a very productive discussion”. The US president flew out of Rome immediately after the funeral mass and there were no further talks. Macron’s office described the exchanges as “positive” and he later met Zelensky one-on-one. Britain said Starmer and Zelensky “discussed positive progress made in recent days” and agreed to “continue working intensively with international partners to drive forward the next stages of planning.”
Putin on Friday discussed the “possibility” of direct talks with Ukraine in a meeting with Witkoff, according to a Kremlin aide. He told Witkoff that Russia is ready to resume talks with Ukraine “without preconditions”, the Kremlin added Saturday. The Putin-Witkoff came just after a top Russian general was killed in a car bomb attack outside Moscow.
The US president, accompanied by his wife Melania, was making the first foreign trip of his second term. It put him center-stage of a major diplomatic gathering with some 50 heads of state, including 10 reigning monarchs, and Britain’s Prince William. Trump shook hands with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. The two have agreed to meet, a European Union spokesperson said.
Other leaders also swarmed Trump. One person he did not meet: His predecessor Biden. Trump has repeatedly disparaged Biden, a devout Catholic attending independently with wife Jill and sitting five rows behind his successor. Previously, other presidents have taken their predecessors with them on Air Force One to papal funerals.
Official Vatican images showed Trump and Melania stopping by the closed coffin in St Peter’s Basilica. Trump, in a dark blue suit and tie, and Melania, wearing a black veil, then took front row seats for the service. Trump had said any meetings would be quick and added: “Frankly it’s a little disrespectful to have meetings when you’re at the funeral of the pope.” – Agencies
