Pallbearers, next to Swiss Guards, carry the coffin of the late Pope Francis as it is transported from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter's Basilica on April 23. The Pope died of a stroke, the Vatican announced hours after the death on April 21, of the 88-year-old reformer, who inspired devotion but riled traditionalists during 12 years leading the Catholic Church. Photo / AFP
Pallbearers, next to Swiss Guards, carry the coffin of the late Pope Francis as it is transported from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter's Basilica on April 23. The Pope died of a stroke, the Vatican announced hours after the death on April 21, of the 88-year-old reformer, who inspired devotion but riled traditionalists during 12 years leading the Catholic Church. Photo / AFP
About 250,000 people paid respects to Pope Francis during the three days his coffin was in St Peter’s Basilica.
US President Donald Trump and other world leaders are attending the funeral amid tight security.
Francis, who championed the underprivileged, will be buried at Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore.
About 250,000 people paid respects to Pope Francis during the three days his coffin lay in St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican said on Friday (local time), as public viewing ended and world leaders began gathering for his funeral.
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the last to bow before the coffin, with the overall crowds exceeding the estimated 195,000 who came to see Francis’ predecessor Benedict XVI after his death in 2022.
“What a great man! He loved everyone, every religion,” said 53-year-old Italian Igho Felici after viewing Francis’ open coffin, adding: “I had to be here.”
Throughout the day, vast crowds of people had packed the wide avenue leading to the basilica, pilgrims and tourists mingling with Italians enjoying a public holiday.
Swiss guards (left) and members of the clergy stand next to the coffin of the late Pope Francis inside St Peter's Basilica during the procession from the chapel of Santa Marta to the basilica. Photo / AFP
Francis’ body – wearing a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes, with a rosary laced around his fingers – was closed in his wooden coffin in a private ceremony late yesterday.
As per tradition, a white silk veil was placed on his face and a bag with coins and medals minted during his 12-year pontificate was placed in the coffin.
St Peter’s Square was to reopen at 5.30am on Saturday, amid strict security, to start letting in about 200,000 people expected to pack the plaza.
US President Donald Trump is among 50 heads of state and over a dozen royals expected to attend.
He arrived in Rome late on Friday, making his first foreign trip since returning to power.
Donald and Melania Trump, pictured during his inauguration, have arrived in Rome. Photo / Bloomberg
US President and First Lady arrive
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump touched down at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, said an AFP reporter travelling with the President on Air Force One.
Italian and Vatican authorities have placed the area around St Peter’s under tight security with drones blocked, snipers on roofs and fighter jets on standby.
Further checkpoints will be activated on Friday night, police said.
The Catholic Church’s first Latin American Pope died on Monday aged 88, less than a month after his release from hospital where he spent weeks fighting severe pneumonia.
“It was like saying goodbye to a father” who “loved me and will continue to love me as and more than before”, said Filipa Castronovo, 76, an Italian nun.
The pontiff, who had long suffered failing health, defied doctors’ orders by making a public appearance on Easter Sunday, the most important moment in the Catholic calendar.
It was his last public appearance.
‘Man of the people’
Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed those on the fringes of society as head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
He used his last speech to rail against those who stir up “contempt ... towards the vulnerable, the marginalised, and migrants”.
“It’s impressive to see all these people,” French Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo said of the queueing crowds, describing Francis as “a man of the people”.
“It’s a beautiful response, a beautiful embrace of his ministry, of his pontificate,” he added.
The Vatican has said more than 130 foreign delegations are confirmed for the funeral, including Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Britain’s Prince William, many of whom began arriving early on Friday morning.
The presence of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in doubt after he said he may miss the funeral because of important “military meetings” after a deadly Russian strike on Kyiv.
On Thursday the Vatican banned people from taking photos inside the basilica, a move that eased the queue. It came after some mourners took selfies with the coffin.
Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome will be the final resting place of Pope Francis. Photo / Audrey Young
After the funeral, Francis’ coffin will be driven at a walking pace for burial at his favourite church, Rome’s papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
The hearse will pass down Rome’s Fori Imperiali – where the city’s ancient temples lie – and past the Colosseum, according to officials.
Big screens will be set up along the route on which to watch the ceremony, according to Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who estimated crowds of around 200,000.
Francis was a champion of the underdog, and a group of “poor and needy” will be at Santa Maria Maggiore to welcome the coffin, the Vatican said.
Francis will be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus.
People will be able to visit the tomb from Sunday morning, as all eyes turn to the process of choosing Francis’ successor.
Cardinals have been returning to Rome for the funeral and the election of a new Pope.
They have been meeting every day, but have yet to announce a date for the conclave.
People suggested as the future Pope include (top, from left): Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi; Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo; Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu; Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson; Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech; (middle) Italian Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa; French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline; Italian Vatican's Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin; Swedish cardinal Anders Arborelius; Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle; (bottom) Italian Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti; US Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost; Burmese Cardinal Charles Maung Bo; Luxembourgish Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich; US Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Photo montage / AFP
Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Hollerich, a Jesuit who was a close adviser to Francis, said the conclave would likely begin on May 5 or 6. This is right after the nine days of official mourning end on May 4.
Only those under the age of 80 – currently about 135 cardinals – are eligible to vote.
Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was No 2 to Francis, is the favourite, according to British bookmakers William Hill.
They put him ahead of Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, the Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Manila, followed by Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Turkson and Matteo Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna.
