World leaders come to the funeral mass of the Pope

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World leaders, including US President Donald Trump, came to St. Peter in Rome for the funeral mass of Pope Francis.

The late Pope, whose body will be located on Saturday in Santa Maria Maggiore, his favorite Roman church, broke up traditions and asked with centuries Simplified rituals for the ceremony.

Dozens of global leaders participate in the funeral mass, including the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Italian prime minister of Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of the British Sir Keira Starmer, right -wing president of Argentina Javier Milei and President Brazil Luis Luis Inácio Lula Da Silva.

Within 12 years on the papal throne, Francis He tried to make the Catholic Church – which has 1.4 billion observers around the world – more sympathetic and accessible, while solving contemporary problems such as climate change.

His death this week at the age of 88 caused the pour out of the regrets of admirers Trump’s magician movement.

The Vatican said that about 250,000 people passed through the basilica of St. In three days, Francis lay in the state before his coffin was sealed on Friday evening.

Royals, including the British prince William and the monarchs of Spanish, Sweden and Denmark, take part in the funeral mass, as well as the heads of international institutions such as the UN and the European Commission. The former US President Joe Biden is also present.

The capital of the holiday estimates that about 200,000 people gathered in St. Peter for a funeral mass, including 220 cardinals and about 750 bishops and priests.

The funeral means the beginning of a nine -day formal mourning period, and then to 135 eligible cardinals under 80 New Pope.

Earlier frontrinators are Cardinal Pietro Parolin, a deceased Pope secretary of state, Cardinal Luis Tagle from the Philippines and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu.

Last year, Francis simplified the papal death rites. Archbishop Diego Ravelli, a master of apostolic ceremonies, said that the changes were to emphasize that “the funeral of the Roman pope is a pastor and a student of Christ, not a powerful person of this world.”

The homily at the funeral mass will be delivered by the Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, at the age of 91, whose words can be interpreted by many Catholics as spiritual tips of cardinals in the field of features that they should look for in the new pope.

After the mass, the coffin will be taken by a caravan from the Basilica of St. Piotr to Santa Maria Maggiore, whom Francis visited before and after each papal journey. He will be the first pope in over a century, which would be buried in front of the Vatican walls.

Funeral procession with a capacity of 5.5 km, which will travel on walking pace, will undergo many most famous monuments of Rome, including the Coliseum.

Although the burial will be a private ceremony, the church will soon open so that mourners can give respect to the deceased pope, which lies under a marble tombstone, simply “Franciscus”.

Additional reports of Giuliana Ricozzi