The funeral mass for Pope Francis will take place this morning in Vatican City, following his death at the age of 88 on Monday. Newsweek is live at the ceremony to bring you all the latest updates, and speak to the mourners gathered to celebrate his life.
- Pope Francis died on Monday, aged 88, after a period of ill-health.
- The Vatican says some 250,000 mourners have filed past to pay respects to Pope Francis in the past 3 days.
- The funeral mass will begin at 10 a.m. local time, which is 4 a.m. ET.
- US President Donald Trump is among dozens of world leaders who are expected to attend the ceremony.
- The ceremony will be different from previous papal funerals, with Francis having personally rewritten the guide in 2024, opting for a more modest burial.
- The Pope will be buried later at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
- Speculation and betting around who will be the next Pope has already begun, with the conclave expected to gather within the coming weeks.
Follow our live updates below:
What To Expect From The Funeral
This morning, Pope Francis is being laid to rest in a ceremony that reflects both his deepest pastoral values and the vision he set for the Church.
While presidents, royalty, and world leaders gather in St. Peter’s Square, it will be prisoners and migrants—those he championed throughout his papacy—who will accompany his coffin into the basilica for burial.
Up to 200,000 people are expected to attend the funeral, which Francis personally planned when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s rites in 2024. His final wish: to be remembered as a humble priest, not as a figure of worldly power.
Good Morning
Good morning, and welcome to Newsweek’s coverage of the funeral of Pope Francis.
We are on the ground, inside Vatican City, to bring our readers in the U.S. and around the world unique coverage of this historic ceremony, and capture the feeling of the many thousands of mourners who have arrived from around the world to pay their respects.
The post Pope Francis Funeral Live: Updates From Ceremony at Vatican appeared first on Newsweek.
