Watch Live: Pope Francis’ Funeral at St. Peter’s Square
On Saturday, more than 200,000 people are expected to attend Pope Francis' funeral in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City.
Francis' funeral is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local time (1 a.m. PT) in St. Peter’s Square.
Francis passed away peacefully on Easter Monday, April 21, at the age of 88, at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. The cause of death was a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.
The funeral Mass will be led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, with 220 cardinals and 750 other clergy concelebrating. Delegations from 130 countries are attending, including 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs, according to ABC News and Sky News.
Notable attendees include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Prince William, the Prince of Wales. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend due to an ICC arrest warrant.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will attend the funeral, marking his first foreign trip since the start of his second term. Former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden are also expected to attend. Biden is the second Catholic president in U.S. history.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators will also attend, led by Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The delegation includes Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, as well as Republican Sens. Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Eric Schmitt of Missouri.
Following the Mass, the pope’s coffin will be transported to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome for burial, honoring his request for a modest tomb outside the Vatican.
This will mark the first time in more than a century that a pope is buried outside the Vatican. Francis chose the basilica due to his personal devotion to the Virgin Mary, particularly the Salus Populi Romani, the iconic Byzantine icon of Mary and the child Jesus holding a Gospel book on a gold background.
