Pallbearers process with the coffin of Pope Francis during his funeral at St. Peter’s Square, Saturday, April 26, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Apr 26, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
The wooden coffin of Pope Francis arrived at the Basilica of St. Mary Major just after 1 p.m. local time in Rome on Saturday, completing the solemn procession from St. Peter’s Square through the streets of Rome and bringing an end to the funeral of the late pontiff.
Nearly half a million mourners gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday morning, while crowds of faithful lined the route to St. Mary Major as the late pontiff made his final journey to the basilica he visited more than 100 times during his papacy.
Pallbearers carry the wooden coffin of Pope Francis, marked with a cross, into St. Peter’s Square for the funeral Mass on April 26, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Crowds assemble for the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Elias Turk/ACI MENA
Archbishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli kneels next to the casket holding the remains of Pope Francis during the funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
Swiss Guards stand at attention during the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re incenses Pope Francis’ coffin during the pontiff’s funeral at St. Peter’s Square, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Vatican MediaHundreds of clergy attend the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren/EWTN News
Hundreds of thousands of mourners attend the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Pallbearers process into St. Peter’s Basilica with Pope Francis’ coffin at St. Peter’s Square, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
Cardinals gather as Pope Francis’ coffin passes by during the pontiff’s funeral at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
Mourners gather in the streets of Rome to see the procession of the coffin of Pope Francis, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Elias Turk / ACI MENAPope Francis’ coffin processes into the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Zosia Czubak
Observers gather on rooftops to watch as the coffin of Pope Francis processes to Saint Mary Major in Rome, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Zosia Czubak
Vatican officials seal Pope Francis’ coffin as Cardinal Kevin Farrell looks on during the private burial ceremony at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Vatican City, Dec 26, 2019 / 06:20 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Thursday prayed for the people of the Philippines, who were hit Christmas Day by a typhoon which has killed more than a dozen people and caused extensive damage.
Vatican City, Apr 24, 2020 / 05:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis prayed that God would give pastors the courage to be close to their people as he celebrated Mass Friday.
The pope asked that the Lord would “above all teach us not to be afraid of God’s people, not to be afraid to be close to them.”
Speaking from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, his Vatican residence, April 24, he said that pastors must avoid becoming mere “pastoral business managers” as Jesus wants every priest to have a “shepherd’s heart”.
“The power of the pastor is service,” he said. “He has no other power. When you begin to make mistakes taking other powers your vocation is ruined.”
In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel, John 6:1-15, in which Jesus used five loaves and two fish to feed a large crowd. He noted that the disciples were tired and did not want the crowd to come between them and the Lord. By contrast, Jesus sought to be close to the people and to teach the disciples how to become true pastors.
Celebrating Mass before a small congregation due to the coronavirus pandemic, the pope said that the disciples saw themselves as “a privileged class, ‘an aristocracy,’ so to speak,” but that Jesus repeatedly corrected them.
He gave the examples of when the disciples tried to prevent children from approaching the Lord and he rebuked them (Matthew 19:13-15), and when people on the road to Jericho ordered a blind man to stop crying out “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me” (Luke 18:35-43).
The pope recalled “a great pastor from a simple, humble neighborhood” who once told him that he wished he could have some rest from his parishioners’ demands.
“But he realized he was a shepherd and had to be with people,” he said. “And Jesus … teaches the disciples, the apostles, this pastoral attitude that is closeness to the people of God.”
Pope Francis concluded the celebration with adoration and benediction, leading those following via livestream in an act of spiritual communion.
Those gathered in the chapel then sang the Easter Marian antiphon “Regina caeli.”
At the start of the Mass, the pope prayed for teachers and students adapting to the new circumstances created by the pandemic.
He said: “We pray today for teachers who have to work so hard to lead lessons via the internet and other media channels and we also pray for students who have to take exams in a way they are not used to. Let us accompany them with prayer.”
Vatican City, Feb 4, 2021 / 06:05 am (CNA).- Pope Francis praised musicians on Thursday for showing “new creativity” despite severe restrictions imposed on their work by the coronavirus pandemic.
In Paradisum Deducant te Angeli.