An extraordinary array of invitees, including heads of state, royals from around the globe, refugees, prisoners, transgender individuals, and those experiencing homelessness, will gather at St Peter’s Square this Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis. This groundbreaking liberal pontiff, who led the Catholic Church for 12 years, passed away at the age of 88 on Monday at his residence in Casa Santa Marta after suffering a stroke followed by heart failure. In recent weeks, he had been recovering from a severe case of double pneumonia that had required a five-week hospital stay.
During the three days of mourning, tens of thousands of individuals have filed into St Peter’s Basilica to pay their respects to the late pontiff. His coffin was sealed during a private ceremony on Friday night, paving the way for the funeral mass, which is set to begin at 10 AM local time. The mass will be officiated by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the college of cardinals.
The scale of this funeral is unprecedented, with at least 130 foreign delegations expected to attend, alongside an estimated 200,000 pilgrims. This has necessitated a massive and intricate security operation in both the Vatican and Rome, involving thousands of Italian police and military personnel, as well as the Vatican's Swiss Guards, the smallest army in the world. To ensure safety, soldiers stationed in St Peter’s Square are equipped with drone defense systems, while rooftop snipers and fighter jets remain on standby.
A delegation from Pope Francis's home country of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei, will take a prominent position in the front row during the mass. Italian leaders, including President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, will occupy the second row, with other heads of state and royals seated in the third. Notably, former US President Donald Trump, who frequently clashed with Francis over immigration issues, and his wife Melania, will be in attendance, alongside Trump’s successor, Joe Biden.
Other notable guests include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Zelenskyy mentioned on Friday that his attendance would depend on military commitments.
The 87-page order of service, available in English, Italian, and Latin, has already been published on the Vatican's website ahead of the funeral. Pope Francis, whose papal name was chosen in honor of Francis of Assisi—the Italian saint renowned for his dedication to the poor—simplified the rites for papal funerals last year and was specific about the arrangements for his own, including the selection of guests.
Among those invited to his funeral mass are delegations from Mediterranea Saving Humans, an Italian NGO committed to protecting refugees crossing the Mediterranean, and Refugees in Libya, which advocates for migrants and refugees detained in North African camps. Pope Francis formed close relationships with both organizations. Luca Casarini, founder of Mediterranea Saving Humans, remarked, “He was a true disciple of Jesus—he spoke to everyone.”
Mahamat Daoud, a former detainee in a Libyan camp where he endured torture before making a perilous journey to Italy in 2023, is among the representatives from Refugees in Libya. Daoud expressed sorrow over the pope's passing, stating, “He was the only pope who really stood with refugees and vulnerable people.” He hopes the funeral will serve as a unifying event, bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds for a shared moment of remembrance.
At the conclusion of the funeral mass, Pope Francis's simple wooden coffin will be transported slowly to Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, located approximately 2.5 miles from St. Peter’s Square, moving through central Rome and passing iconic monuments, including the Colosseum. True to Francis's wishes, upon arrival at the historic basilica, he will receive a final farewell from a group of 40 individuals, including prisoners and homeless people.
Since the outset of his papacy, Pope Francis emphasized care for those often marginalized by society. Robert Mickens, a Rome-based columnist for Union of Catholic Asian News, noted that the late pontiff is the first in over a century not to be interred with grandiosity in the grottoes beneath St Peter’s Basilica. Instead, his coffin will be placed in a modest niche, formerly used for candlestick holders. In line with his final testament, the tomb will remain unadorned, inscribed only with his papal name in Latin: Franciscus. The burial will be an intimate event, attended solely by close family and select Vatican officials.
