After world bids Pope Francis farewell, his chair is yet to be occupied
In a final journey through the eternal city, Pope Francis was laid to rest at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore - the church he visited the day after his election and before every major papal journey.
A photograph taken from St Peter Basilica shows a general view of late Pope Francis' coffin during the funeral ceremony in St Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on 26 April 2025. Picture: AFP
JOHANNESBURG - The world has said its final goodbye to the late Pope Francis in a funeral mass service before thousands of mourners at Saint Peter’s Square.
Approximately 400,000 people joined world leaders, including United States President Donald Trump, to bid farewell to the pontiff who’s been described as a champion for the poor and strived to forge a more compassionate Catholic Church.
Francis was the first Latin American leader of the world's over one billion Catholics.
His passing and laying to rest mark the end of a 12-year papacy that has been hailed as a progressive one.
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In a final journey through the eternal city, Pope Francis was laid to rest at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore - the church he visited the day after his election and before every major papal journey.
It was a place of prayer and quiet reflection, but now it is his eternal home.
Cardinals marked his coffin with red wax seals before it was lowered into a tomb set inside an alcove for the Roman Catholic Church’s 266th pope, marking an end to a 12-year papacy that so deeply touched many across the globe.
Thousands who watched both with admiration and sorrow erupted with applause as they gathered under Rome’s bright blue skies, and lauded the Vicar of Christ for being a leader with the unwavering conviction that the church is a home for all, with its doors always open.
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