VATICAN CITY,— Tens of thousands of people flocked to St. Peter’s Square beginning at dawn Saturday to honor Pope Francis with a farewell ceremony reflecting his priorities as pope and wishes as pastor. Presidents and princes will attend his funeral Mass at the Vatican, but prisoners and migrants will greet him in the basilica across town where he will be buried.
The funeral, which Francis choreographed himself while revising and simplifying the Vatican’s rites and rituals last year, is expected to draw up to 200,000 people. His goal was to emphasize the pope’s status as a mere priest rather than “a powerful man of this world.”
It reflected Francis’ 12-year project to fundamentally reform the papacy, emphasizing pastors as servants and building “a poor church for the poor.” He articulated the mission just days after his 2013 election, and it explained the name he chose as pope, which honors St.
Francis of Assisi “who had the heart of the poor of the world,” according to the official decree of the pope’s life, which was placed in his coffin before it was sealed Friday evening.
Despite Francis’ focus on the powerless, the powerful will attend his funeral. U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and European Union leaders will lead official delegations alongside Prince William and the European royals.
Given Francis’ Argentine nationality, Argentine President Javier Milei took pride in his position, even if the two did not get along well. The pope also alienated many Argentinians by never returning home.
The white facade of St. Peter’s Basilica glowed pink as the sun rose early Saturday, and throngs of mourners flocked to the square hours before the funeral. Giant television screens were installed along the surrounding streets for those who were unable to get close.
The Mass and funeral procession, which will feature Francis’ coffin being carried on the open-topped popemobile he used during his 2015 trip to the Philippines, will also be broadcast live worldwide.
Some mourners spent the night camped out in nearby piazzas, and the atmosphere was almost festive as helicopters flew overhead. Many people had planned to attend a special Holy Year Mass honoring young people in Rome this weekend, and scouts and youth church groups outnumbered nuns and seminarians by a large margin.
“The Lord wanted it this way, so we came all the same,” said Sandra De Felice, one of 13 people from southern Calabria who camped out Friday night after deciding to travel to Rome a day early. “To me, this is a sign that we must be truly humble and charitable. Otherwise, we’re nothing.
The poor and marginalized welcome him
Francis, the first Latin American and Jesuit pope, died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 from a stroke while at home recovering from pneumonia.
Francis will be buried in the St. Mary Major Basilica, near Rome’s main train station, in a simple underground tomb bearing only his name, Franciscus. Up to 300,000 people are expected to line the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) motorcade route that will transport Francis’ coffin from the Vatican through the heart of Rome to the basilica following the funeral.
The Vatican announced that 40 special guests would greet his coffin on the piazza in front of the basilica, representing the marginalized groups Francis prioritized as pope: homeless and migrants, prisoners, and transgender people.
“The poor have a privileged place in the heart of God,” the Vatican quoted Francis as saying when explaining the decision.
With his burial, preparations can now begin in earnest for the centuries-old process of electing a new pope, which is expected to begin in the first week of May. In the meantime, the Vatican is led by a handful of cardinals, including Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals who is officiating at the funeral and organizing the secret voting in the Sistine Chapel.
A special relationship with the basilica
Francis had a soft spot for St. Mary Major long before he became Pope. It is home to a Byzantine-style Madonna icon, the Salus Populi Romani, to which Francis was particularly devoted, going to pray before and after each of his foreign trips as Pope.
The basilica’s selection is also symbolic, given its association with Francis’ Jesuit religious order. St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, held his first Mass in the basilica on Christmas Day, 1538.
Italy is deploying over 2,500 police and 1,500 soldiers to provide security, as well as stationing a torpedo ship off the coast and putting fighter jet squadrons on standby, according to Italian media reports.
Crowds waited hours in line to bid farewell to Francis
Over three days this week, more than 250,000 people stood in line for hours to pay their final respects to Francis’ body as it lay in state in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican kept the doors open all night to accommodate them.
“He was an excellent, humble person who changed many laws and always for the better,” said Augustin Angelicola, a pilgrim from Argentina, as he waited in line. “All of this has been a tragedy for the entire world. We didn’t expect it; it had to happen, but not this soon.”
Even with the longer hours, it wasn’t enough. When the Vatican closed its doors to the general public at 7 p.m. on Friday, a large number of mourners were turned away.