Key moments of the funeral of Pope Francis as mourning people offer farewell to the fire pontiff

Pope Francis was put to rest on Saturday at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome after having died at 88 years on April 21.

More than 250,000 people have proven to say goodbye to the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. The crowd of Place Saint-Pierre in the Vatican included many young people and world leaders, giving us important snapshots of our political moment.

Here are some key moments of the historical event:

Francis remembered as “the pope among the people”

During his funeral, Pope Francis was recalled and venerated as a pontiff with “Force and Serenity” which shaped his pontificate in Saint-François d’Assise. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, delivered the homily in front of the mourning people on Saint-Pierre square.

“He has established direct contact with individuals and peoples, eager to be close to everyone, with marked attention to those who are in difficulty, giving himself without measure, in particular to the marginalized, the least of us,” said Re.

“He was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone. He was also a pope attentive to the signs of the time and what the Holy Spirit woke up in the Church.”

Young people play a leading role in the funeral of Pope Francis

The awareness of Pope Francis resonated with the younger generations, of which thousands were present on Saint-Pierre square to cry the late pontiff during his funeral on Saturday morning.

About 80,000 teenagers had Registered for the teenage jubileeA special event for the faithful aged 12 to 17 during the year of the Jubilee of the Catholic Church of 2025, according to the Dicastery for Evangelization, a department of Roman Curia – the central director of the Catholic Church.

Some changes were made to the event, scheduled for Friday and Sunday, due to Francis’ death. The canonization of Carlo Acutis, died in 2006 at the age of 15 of leukemia, was postponed. Acutis, an Italian teenager known for his devotion to the Eucharist, should become the first Saint “Millennium” on his canonization, which was officially approved by Francis in July 2024.

The crowd applauds while the coffin of Pope Francis came out of the basilica

The mourning people gathered on Saint-Pierre square broke out in applause while the carriers carried the coffin of the Pope outside. It was the site of the last official act of Pope Francis, when he celebrated Easter Sunday one day before his death on April 21.

American Reporter provides the 1st reading

Some young adults have even played a leading role in the funeral procedure. The American Kielce Gussie, 28, made the first reading in English – several verses of the Acts of the Apostles.

Gussie works as a journalist at the Vatican News and completed his undergraduate diploma in theology at Mount St. Mary University. She also has a licensee in communications licensee from the Pontifical University of Rome University of the Holy Cross.

The crowd applauds Ukrainian President Zelenskyy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, present with his wife Olena Zelenska, obtained applause of the crowd on Saint-Pierre square appeared on the screens of the region.

Zelenskyy led Ukraine during the country’s war with Russia, which intensified in 2022 after the Russian invasion of the Eastern European country.

President Donald Trump met Zelenskyy privately before the funeral and experienced a “very productive session,” said White House communications director Steven Cheung, at the press swimming pool traveling with Trump.

It was the first meeting between the two men from their controversial meeting in February at the Oval Office, in which Trump and Vice-President JD Vance reprimanded Zelenskyy for his war management.

First lady Melania Trump joined the president during the funeral. Former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden also attended the funeral, sitting around four rows behind the Trumps.

The pages of the gospel book blow in the wind

This is one of the most poignant and emblematic moments of papal funerals: the simple but deep image of the breeze blowing the pages of the Book of Gospels resting on the coffin of the Pope on Saint-Pierre square.

The book was open to reading “in the passion and death of the Lord”.

Bells Toll while the coffin is brought back to the basilica

The coffin bearing Pope Francis was brought by the holy door of the Saint-Pierre basilica for one last time when the bells were penetrated for the pope throughout the Vatican.

The funeral, which lasted more than two hours, ended with bells that sound for the pontiff. His coffin was taken to the Basilica of Rome de Saint Mary Major where he was put to rest.

Thousands of rome line rollers for the funeral procession of Pope Francis

The itinerary of four miles between the Saint -Pierre basilica and the last resting place of Pope Francis – the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome – was bordered by tens of thousands of people in mourning after its funeral on Saturday morning.

You could see people cry and applaud while Francis’ coffin passed.

Francis’ coffin was placed in the bed of a white van, where it was visible by thousands of street music. The procession exceeded the pope’s body in front of some of the historic landmarks of Rome, such as the Roman forum and the Colosseum.

When Pope Francis arrived at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, it was the last time that he was seen in public before his burial. The basilica will reopen visitors again on Sunday.

Alexandra Hutzler of ABC News, Kevin Shalvey, Jon Haworth, Hannah Demissie, Molly Nagle, Alex Ederson, Phoebe Natanson and Thomas Dunlavey.