Royals, dignitaries and world leaders have joined hundreds of thousands of mourners in the Vatican for the funeral of Pope Francis. Follow the latest below.
Saturday 26 April 2025 09:36, UK
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Live reporting by Ollie CooperandBhvishya Patel
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump are among scores of world leaders attending today’s service.
The pair met ahead of the ceremony, and will speak again after (see more in our 8.57 post).
With the funeral service under way, the Vatican has said around 200,000 people are in attendance.
Presidents, prime ministers and cardinals are currently gathered for the funeral and join the huge crowds descended upon Vatican City.
The Catholic faithful are bidding a final farewell to a religious leader dubbed the “people’s Pope”, whose death sparked tributes from across the globe.
Around 160,000 people are in St Peter’s Square to pay their respects to the Pope, according to police.
Crowds have also gathered in the nearby streets to catch a glimpse of the funeral.
A tight security presence has seen roads in the vicinity closed as Italian police manage the huge numbers.
The Liturgy of the Word – which is a crucial part of the mass in Roman Catholicism – has begun.
It is a dialogue between God and his people, where the assembly listens to readings from the Old and New Testaments.
The first reading is from the Acts of the Apostles, and is read by Kielce Gussie in English.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re now addresses the masses gathered to celebrate the life of Pope Francis.
He begins by performing the Penitential Act – a way for the faithful to confess their sinfulness.
“I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God,” he says.
“May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.”
We’re now set for a bit more singing, which will be followed by the Collect, or opening prayer.
While we wait for the entrance antiphon to conclude, let’s remind you of one of the key names today.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re is presiding over the funeral service.
The Italian was the man to summon cardinals to Rome after the death of the pontiff and has presided over several key “congregation” meetings since.
However, he won’t take part in the process to elect the next pope.
That’s because, at 91, he’s too old to participate in conclave – in which those over 80 are unable to cast a vote.
He can, however, be elected pope – but that’s seen as highly unlikely.
As we get started, you can get a feel for the scale of the ceremony from some shots from above in this clip…
The funeral of Pope Francis is under way in St Peter’s Square, led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
We begin with the entrance antiphon – typically psalm verses or sentences from Holy Scripture which are typically sung or spoken.
We’ll have the latest from the service right here, or you can watch along in the stream at the top of this page.
Here’s the full order of service (you can scroll through it below):
Pallbearers are now carrying the Pope’s coffin through St Peter’s Basilica.
They will carry it into St Peter’s Square where the ceremony will begin.
Shortly after paying their respects in front of the coffin of Pope Francis, the Prince of Wales and Sir Keir Starmer took their seats for the start of the funeral.
They were followed closely by US President Donald Trump and, just after, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
When the Ukrainian leader walked out, there was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square – watch that moment here…
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