April 26, (THEWILL) –Pope Francis was finally laid to rest on Saturday in a private, religious ceremony within the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, following a funeral Mass at St. Peter’s Square attended by royals, world leaders and Catholic faithful.
The Rite of the Burial of the Roman Pontiff’s casket was attended by Catholic leaders and Francis’ family members, Vatican News said.
After the Mass, Francis’ coffin was placed on an open-air popemobile and transported to the burial site outside the Vatican by a motorcade that traversed the streets of Rome, lined by cheering crowds.
His coffin arrived at the Basilica after a procession watched by thousands lining the street.
While more than a quarter-million people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ funeral, report by Vatican News said, about 250 cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops and priests, as well as consecrated religious and lay people joined Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, as he delivered the liturgy.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to immigrant parents who fled Italy’s fascist government under Benito Mussolini, Francis was educated as a chemical technician, worked in the food processing sector, and briefly worked as a bouncer in a Cordoba nightclub before becoming a priest in 1969. He was chosen as the 266th pope after Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation in March 2013.
Francis, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, died Easter Monday at 88 from a stroke, weeks after battling back from respiratory ailments.
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