Approximately 250,000 people followed the mass from the square or nearby on giant screens. The rest lined the route of the funeral procession to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The Catholic Church closes a chapter,

Francis, who took his name after Saint Francis of Assisi, was known for his outreach to the poor and those in poverty and that will be reflected in his minimalist burial at Saint Mary Major. He is the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in over a century and the first to be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore in more than 300 years.

The funeral drew world leaders, including President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who had a talk in the Basilica.