Updated on: April 26, 2025 / 11:15 AM EDT / CBS News
About 250,000 people attended the funeral service for Pope Francis on Saturday morning in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, before the late leader of the Catholic Church was transported to the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) in Rome to be buried. While the ceremony followed many traditions developed over centuries of church history, there were some details uniquely chosen by Pope Francis. Watch the ceremony here on CBS News, and find answers to some of your questions about the historic event below.
Pope Francis's funeral began shortly after 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Eastern, 1 a.m. Pacific) at the Vatican, outside St. Peter's Basilica. The ceremony was presided over by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
The funeral followed the Vatican's liturgical book for papal funeral rites, called the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis. It was broken down into three separate phases, or "stations": The preparation of the body, the viewing of the body, and then the burial.
An updated edition of the ancient papal funeral rites was approved by Pope Francis last year, changing some longstanding traditions, including the type of coffin used.
Saturday's service began with music sung by the Sistine Chapel Choir. The first reading was done by American Vatican News journalist, Kielce Gussie.
During the homily, Cardinal Re said "mercy and the joys of the gospel" were two priorities of Pope Francis, "in contrast to the culture of waste."
"He often reminded us... that we all belong to the same human family and that no one is saved alone," Re said.
Re said Pope Francis "raised his voice, imploring peace," because "war always leaves the world worse than it was before. It is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone."
He said Pope Francis encouraged people to "build bridges, not walls."
Pope Francis' funeral was attended by thousands of members of the public, as well as religious leaders and heads of state from around the world.
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended, as did former President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden.
When Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska arrived to take their seats ahead of the service, the gathered crowd erupted in applause. Mr. Trump, who is trying to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, met privately with Zelenskyy earlier in the day.
