Royalty has joined world leaders at the funeral of Pope Francis.

Kings, queens, princes and princesses joined hundreds of thousands of mourners in St. Peter’s Square for the solemn Mass.

Pope Francis’s coffin was carried from St. Peter’s Basilica into the Square for the Mass which took place in bright spring sunshine.

Among the mourners were the Prince of Wales who earlier paid tribute at the coffin inside St. Peter’s.

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians were present as were King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain. Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco and Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg also joined mourners.

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden and Queen Mary of Denmark attended along with King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan.

US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy sat in the front row at the service.

Cardinal Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, led the Mass and delivered the eulogy in which he described Francis as a Pope of the People.

Readings from the Acts of the Apostles and the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians were given. The Gospel, from John, was sung. The piece chosen was Chapter 21, verses 15-19 in which Jesus tells Peter to ”feed my sheep”.

The eulogy spoke of Francis as the Pope of the People and touched on his work with the most needy in society. It also reflected on his visits around the world and in particular the time he spent among migrants.

The coffin of Pope Francis was then driven in the Popemobile through Rome for thousands to pay a final tribute, passing the Colosseum.

Francis was buried at the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in a simple ceremony. The Pope often brought flowers to the church when he prayed there and as his coffin was held aloft inside, four children placed white roses at an altar for Francis.

He had been received at the church by a group of homeless people who held white roses to bring him into the church.

Pope Francis led the Catholic Church from his election in March 2013. On Easter Sunday 2025 he greeted the faithful in St. Peter’s to deliver his Urbi et Orbi message. He later drove around the Square in the Popemobile. Hours later, he died at the Vatican at the age of 88.

Pope Francis, 1936 – 2025