World leaders throng Pope Francis’ funeral as service kicks off
World leaders and mourners have thronged St. Peter’s Square in Vatican, Italy to bid final farewell to Pope Francis who died on Easter Monday this week aged 88 years.
Crowds on the edge of St. Peter’s Square watched the funeral mostly in silence, breaking it only to sing and follow along with prayers, and to applaud when they saw Francis’ coffin.
Numerous world leaders and royals have gathered in Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral.
Among the most prominent figures at the Vatican’s St Peter’s Square on Saturday morning are Prince William, US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
President William Ruto arrived in Rome, Italy, to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
He joins other world leaders and Catholic faithful who have travelled from across the globe to pay their final respects to the late pontiff.
Their attendance comes at a fragile time for international diplomacy, with Trump meeting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky before the service, according to Zelensky’s spokesman.
Zelensky and Trump have met in Rome ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral.
Officials from both parties confirmed the meeting had taken place, with the White House describing it as “very productive”.
No further details on the discussion have been released.
Trump and Zelensky are attending the service in Vatican City alongside other heads of state and royals including Prince William, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Their meeting comes one day after Trump said Russia and Ukraine were “very close to a deal”, following talks between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.
The meeting was the fourth such visit Witkoff had made to Russia since the start of the year, with the three-hour talks later described as “very useful” by Putin aide Yuri Ushakov. Ushakov also added that it had brought the “Russian and US positions closer together, not just on Ukraine but also on a range of other international issues” of which the “possibility of resuming direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives was in particular discussed”.
Steven Cheung, White House communications director, said more details about Saturday’s private meeting between Trump and Zelensky would follow.
People could barely move, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, but moved respectfully when many among the crowd wanted to kneel in prayer.
The mood then suddenly shifted from somber and reflective to uplifted, as people turned to one another to offer handshakes of peace, and priests came to the front of security barriers to offer communion.
People moved out of the way to let others pass for communion, but not everyone was able to reach the front of the line.
Standing in Piazza Pio XII, I could hear at least five different languages spoken and saw people carrying the flags of Argentina, Lebanon, Venezuela and Bosnia and Herzegovina — a testament to Pope Francis’ global outreach.
Despite the heat, both children and the elderly made it to the square. Worshipers helped volunteers pass out water to those in the back of the crowd.
The US president is sitting with other heads of state in the front row, close to the steps of St Peter’s Basilica. And intriguingly, he and First Lady Melania are sitting between two staunch supporters of Ukraine. Estonia’s President Alar Karis is to Melania’s left, and Finland’s Alexander Stubb to Trump’s right.
While the main focus is on the funeral service, considerable attention is focused on potential diplomatic moves on the sidelines. As the US leader talks of being “very close” to a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, we know that Trump had a brief meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the funeral.
For 90 minutes or more, Trump is now sandwiched between two of Zelensky’s closest allies.
He knows Stubb well, having played golf with him at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida only weeks ago.
At the time Stubb said he told Trump he couldn’t trust Russia’s Putin. If Estonia’s leader does get a chance to bend Trump’s ear, he would probably say the same.
