*Hundreds of thousands witness funeral 

*How first non-European pope in almost 13 centuries requested for simple burial

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

United States President, Donald Trump; his predecessor Joe Biden; Britain’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer and French President, Emmanuel Macron, as well as Prince William, and other world leaders from 150 nations were among the over 250,000 mourners who bid Pope Francis farewell as the leader of the Catholic church was laid to rest yesterday at a solemn funeral ceremony held at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Vatican City.

Earlier, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who was the leader of Nigeria’s delegation to the burial ceremony, paid tribute to the departed Pope, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian People at the lying-in-state.
Pope Francis, who shunned much of the pomp and privilege of the papacy, had asked to be buried at Saint Mary Major Basilica, rather than in St. Peter’s, the first time a Pope would be laid to rest outside the Vatican in more than a century, a Reuters report said.

Pope Francis became the first Pope in over 120 years to be buried outside the precincts of St Peter’s Basilica.
Some other world leaders in attendance were the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, who was pictured locked in deep discussion with Trump earlier; President of Argentina, Javier Milei; Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and Italian President, Sergio Mattarella.

Behind these leaders were reigning sovereigns, and other delegations seated in alphabetical order in French, the official language of diplomacy, on other benches.
Also present were: German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz; European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen; Norway’s Crown Prince, Haakon and Crown Princess, Mette-Marit; Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia as well as Monaco’s Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II.

Besides, Poland President, Andrzej Duda; Dominican Republic President, Luis Abinader; Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde; German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier; Croatian President, Zoran Milanovic; Ecuador President, Daniel Noboa; Moldova President Maia; New Zealand Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, among others also attended the event.
In addition, 250 cardinals, 400 Bishops and over 4,000 priests were at the ceremony to honour the Argentine Pope who reigned for 12 years and died at the age of 88 last Monday after suffering a stroke.

There was a loud applause as Pope Francis’ coffin was brought out of the Basilica and into the sun-filled square by 14 white-gloved pallbearers at the start of the Mass.
The crowds clapped loudly again at the end of the service when the ushers picked up the casket and tilted it slightly so that more people could see it.

After the funeral, as the great bells of St. Peter’s pealed in mourning, the coffin was placed on an open-topped popemobile and driven through the heart of Rome to St. Mary Major Basilica.
The popemobile left the Vatican from the Perugino Gate, a side entrance just yards away from the Santa Marta guesthouse where Francis had chosen to live, instead of the ornate Renaissance apartments in the papal palace.
Crowds estimated by police as numbering some 150,000 lined the 5.5-km (3.4-mile) route to St. Mary Major.
The scene resembled many popemobile rides Francis took in his 47 trips to all corners of the world.
Some in the crowd waved signs, and others threw flowers towards the casket.
They shouted “viva il papa” (long live the pope) and “ciao, Francesco” (goodbye, Francis) as the procession made its way around Rome’s ancient monuments, including the Colosseum.

Pope Francis’ death ushered in a meticulously planned period of transition, marked by ancient ritual, pomp and mourning.
Over the past three days, thousands of people filed past his open coffin, laid out before the altar of the cavernous basilica.
Choirs at the funeral sang Latin hymns, and prayers were recited in various languages, including Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese and Arabic, reflecting the global reach of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church.
Many of the faithful camped out overnight to try to secure spots at the front of the crowd, while others hurried there in the early morning.

Pope Francis, the first non-European pope for almost 13 centuries, battled to reshape the Church, siding with the poor and marginalised, while challenging wealthy nations to help migrants and reverse climate change.
“Francis left everyone a wonderful testimony of humanity, of a holy life and universal fatherhood,” said a formal summary of his papacy, written in Latin, and placed next to his body.

In his homily at the Requiem Mass for Pope Francis, the Dean of the College of Cardinals recalled the highlights of his intense and prophetic 12 years of pontificate marked by his closeness to the people, “especially the least and the last amongst us”, said a statement from the Vatican.

Over 250,000 people from all walks of life poured into St. Peter’s Square and the adjacent areas yesterday morning to bid their final farewell to Pope Francis at his Requiem Mass. Over 150,00 others lined the streets of Rome as his coffin was taken in procession to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
“The Solemn and moving celebration was presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, joined by some 250 Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, priests, and consecrated religious.

“In his homily, the Dean of the College of Cardinals delved into the many highlights of his remarkable and intense 12 years of Petrine Ministry marked by his style of closeness to the people and spontaneity of his gestures until the very end, but most importantly, by his deep love for the Church which he wanted open to everyone,” the Vatican statement added.
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 the week of mourning told a lot on how much the pontificate of Pope Francis “touched minds and hearts” of many people, not only within the Church.

Referencing the Gospel passage where Christ charged 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,” the Cardinal stressed.

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 (the late Pope) 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,” Cardinal Re remarked.

How First Non-European Pope in Almost 13 Centuries Requested for Simple Burial

 Although traditionalists pushed back at his efforts to make the Church more transparent, while his pleas for an end to conflict, divisions and rampant capitalism often fell on deaf ears, the pope carried his desire for greater simplicity into his funeral, having rewritten the elaborate, book-length funeral rites used previously.
He also opted to forego a papal tradition of three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead and oak. Instead, he was placed in a single, zinc-lined wooden coffin.

His tomb has just “Franciscus”, his name in Latin, inscribed on the top. A reproduction of the simple, iron-plated cross he used to wear around his neck hangs above the marble slab.
However, after the Pope is laid to rest, attention will now switch to who might succeed him. The secretive conclave is unlikely to begin before May 6, and might not start for several days after that, giving cardinals time to hold regular meetings beforehand to sum each other up and assess the state of the Church, beset by financial problems and ideological divisions, Reuters added.

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