Over 250,000 at Pope Francis' Funeral Including Royalty and Presidents - 4,000 Priests, 750 Bishops, 250 Cardinals - at the Vatican
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The Solemn and moving celebration was presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re joined by some 250 Cardinals, Patriarchs, 750 Archbishops and Bishops, 4,000 priests, and consecrated religious.
Thanking all those present and extending his greetings to the numerous religious leaders, Heads of State, Heads of Government and Official Delegations from across the world attending the Mass, Cardinal Re noted that the outpouring witnessed in this week of mourning tells a lot on how much the pontificate of Pope Francis “touched minds and hearts” of many people, not only within the Church.
The good shepherd close to his people until the very endKey world leaders and royals who attended the funeral
Attendees Included: Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, Pope Francis's home country
Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella
(UPDATED List) Royalty ing Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Queen Mary of Denmark
Prince William of Wales King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan
King Letsie III of Lesotho
Prince Alois and Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein
Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden
Leaders from Various Countries:
U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania
Former U.S. President Joe Biden and his Wife Jill
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky
Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Prince of Wales
India's President Droupadi Murmu
Poland President Andrzej Duda
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Croatia President Zoran Milanovic
Ecuador President Daniel Noboa
Ireland Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin
Moldova President Maia Sandu
Latvia President Edgars Rinkevics
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres
China Former Vice President Chen Chin-Jen
Hungary President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban
European Council President Antonio Costa
High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Callas
President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola
Bajram Begaj, president of Albania
Vahagn Khachaturyan, president of Armenia
Sam Mostyn, governor general of Australia
Christian Stocker, chancellor of Austria
Joâo Manuel Gonçalves, president of Angola
Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of Bangladesh
Bart De Wever, prime minister of Belgium
Froyla Tzalam, governor general of Belize
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil
Zeljka Cvijanović, chairman of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mary Simon, governor general of Canada
Jose Maria Neves, president of Cape Verde
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, prime minister of Qatar
Faustin-Archange Touadera, president of the Central African Republic
Manuel José Ossandon, senator of Chile
Chin-Jen Chen, former vice president of China
Salvador Valdés Mesa, vice president of Cuba
Nikos Christodoulides, president of Cyprus
Petr Fiala, prime minister of the Czech Republic
Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Jose Ramos-Horta, president of East Timor
Félix Ulloa Garay, vice president of El Salvador
Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, vice president of Equatorial Guinea
Alar Karis, president of Estonia
Alexander Stubb, president of Finland
Brice Nguema, president of Gabon
Mikheil Kavelashvili, president of Georgia
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, prime minister of Greece
Xiomara Castro, president of Honduras
Tamas Sulyok and Viktor Orbán, president and prime minister of Hungary
Halla Tómasdóttir, president of Iceland
Nechirvan Barzani, president of Kurdistan Region in Iraq
Micheal D. Higgins and Micheal Martin, president and prime minister of Ireland
Yaron Sideman, ambassador of Israel
William Samoei Ruto, president of Kenya
Edgars Rinkevics, president of Latvia
Joseph Khalil Aoun, president of Lebanon
Gitanas Nauseda, president of Lithuania
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, president of Macedonia
Andry Rajoelina, president of Madagascar
Myriam Spiteri Debono, president of Malta
Rosa Icela Rodríguez, secretary of the interior of Mexico
Maia Sandu, president of Moldova
Jakov Milatović, president of Montenegro
Aziz Akhannouch, prime minister of Morocco
Daniel Chapo, president of Mozambique
Dick Schoof, prime minister of the Netherlands
Christopher Luxon, prime minister of New Zealand
Mohamed Mustafa, prime minister of Palestine
Raúl Latorre, president of the chamber of deputies of Paraguay
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Luis Montenegro, president and prime minister of Portugal
Ilie Bolojan, interim president of Romania
Denise Bronzetti, captain regent of San Marino
Duro Macut, prime Minister of Serbia
Wavel Ramkalawan, president of Seychelles
Julius Maada Bio, president of Sierra Leone
Peter Pellegrini, president of Slovakia
Natasa Pirc Musar and Robert Golob, president and prime minister of Slovenia
Ulf Kristersson, prime minister of Sweden
Karin Keller-Sutter, president of Switzerland
Philip Isdor Mpango, vice president of Tanzania
Faure Gnassingbé, president of Togo
Numan Kurtulmus, speaker of the national assembly of Turkey
Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations
Constantino Chiwenga, vice president of Zimbabwe Referencing the Gospel passage where Christ charges Peter with shepherding His flock, Cardinal Re remarked that “Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life,” in which he “followed in the footsteps of his Lord, the Good Shepherd”“The final image we have of him, which will remain etched in our memory, is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessing from the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica. He then came down to this Square to greet the large crowd gathered for the Easter Mass while riding in the open-top Popemobile.”
He recalled how his decision to take the name Francis “immediately appeared to indicate the pastoral plan and style on which he wanted to base his pontificate, seeking inspiration from the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi.”
With his temperament and form of pastoral leadership, and through his resolute personality, said Cardinal Re, “he immediately made his mark on the governance of the Church.”
“He was a Pope among the people”, with an open heart towards everyone, especially the marginalised, the least among us, but “also a Pope attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church.”
With his characteristic vocabulary and language, he always sought to shed light on the problems of our difficult times with the wisdom of the Gospel, encouraging Christians to live out their faith amid these challenges and contradictions, which he liked to describe as an “epochal change."
Evangelisation, Cardinal Re explained, remained central to his vision, most notably expressed in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. His image of the Church as a “field hospital” characterised a Church actively engaging with the world’s wounds.
His outreach to migrants and refugees, exemplified by the visits to Lampedusa, Lesbos, and the US-Mexico border, was deeply symbolic of his solidarity with the suffering.
“His gestures and exhortations in favour of refugees and displaced persons are countless. His insistence on working on behalf of the poor was constant.”
Among his 47 Apostolic Journeys, Cardinal Re highlighted his visit to Iraq, which, he said, stood out as both a “pastoral balm” and a call for interreligious dialogue.
His global travels often brought him to places of deep need and conflict, culminating in his 2024 visit to the Asia-Oceania region, which extended the Church’s presence to the farthest peripheries.
Cardinal Re also highlighted Pope Francis’ relentless emphasis on mercy—centred in his declaration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2016—and his persistent advocacy for a “culture of encounter” against the prevailing “throwaway culture.” His call for human fraternity, notably in his Encyclical ‘Fratelli tutti’ and the 2019 Abu Dhabi joint Declaration on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, underscored his desire for global solidarity and peace. Environmental stewardship, expressed in the Encyclical 'Laudato si’', Cardinal Re continued, further widened the scope of his moral leadership, stressing the interconnectedness of all creation and our shared responsibility for the planet.
In times of global violence and war, Pope Francis’ voice stood out as one of peace, always insisting that “war is a defeat for humanity”.
Cardinal Re's words on the late Pope's efforts and appeals for world peace drew wide applause from the crowds present. Pope Francis, pray for us from heaven!
The homily closed on a tender note, invoking the familiar words with which Pope Francis always ended his audiences and meetings: “Do not forget to pray for me.”
With more applause rising from those present, Cardinal Re said now, as Pope Francis rests in God's embrace, the faithful reverse that request, asking their beloved Pope to intercede for the Church, for Rome, and the whole world from heaven.
“Dear Francis, we now ask you to pray for us. May you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world from heaven as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica in a final embrace with all the people of God, but also embrace humanity that seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds high the torch of hope.”
Sources Vatican News - BBC - CBC
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