President Murmu, world leaders join 200,000 mourners at Pope Francis' funeral
Meghalaya CM described the funeral as a 'solemn, deeply spiritual celebration of a life devoted to divine duty'
President Murmu pays last respects to Pope Francis at his funeral in Vatican City, on Saturday. (Photo:@rashtrapatibhvn/X)
Vatican City, April 26: The funeral mass ceremony of Pope Francis, that began Saturday afternoon, India time, in the iconic Baroque plaza before St. Peter’s Basilica, saw approximately 200,000 people, including several top world leaders, Vatican authorities said.
Additionally, more than 100 delegations have come together to pay respects to the late leader of the Catholic Church, who will be laid to rest in the Italian capital on Saturday.
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.
“We are gathered with sad hearts in prayer around his mortal remains,” Cardinal Re said, in his homily at the funeral Mass for Pope Francis.
President Murmu and Kiren Rijiju during the funeral (Photo: @rashtrapatibhvn/X)
President Droupadi Murmu is leading the Indian delegation in Rome, accompanied by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State George Kurian, and Deputy Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly Joshua De Souza.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma was also amongst the attendees. “It was a solemn and deeply spiritual ceremony — a celebration of a life wholly devoted to fulfilling the divine duty entrusted to him by God, in service to all of mankind,” he said as a part of a post on social media, on Saturday.
President Droupadi Murmu and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju at Pope Francis' funeral, on Saturday. (Photo: @rashtrapatibhvn/X)
After the funeral mass, Pope Francis will be buried outside the Vatican in St. Mary Major, a basilica in Rome. Francis will be the first Pontiff in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican Grottoes.
Among the global dignitaries attending are US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Argentinian President Javier Milei.
The United Kingdom is represented by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prince William. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin is absent, Russia has sent its Culture Minister in his place.
-With inputs from agencies