The streets of Rome were packed with hundreds of thousands of mourners on Saturday, as the casket of Pope Francis proceeded through the city. The journey followed an open-air funeral ceremony at St. Peter’s Square attended by many of the most powerful people in the world, including US president Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump, former president Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Prince William, and French president Emmanuel Macron.
Pope Francis died Monday at the age of 88, following several months of health struggles. In his final days, the Argentinian Jesuit visited with people, including US vice president JD Vance and King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Neither Vance nor Charles were at Saturday’s ceremony, however, with the latter sending his son, the Prince of Wales, in his stead.
Trump was seated in the front row during Saturday’s funeral mass, about 10 seats from Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. Also seated prominently were Argentinian president Javier Milei, Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni, and Italian president Sergio Mattarella. Many other dignitaries were arranged on benches behind the front rows, seated in alphabetical order in French, the primary language of diplomacy and international relations. This line-up included World Health Organization director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Queen Rania.
Over 250,000 mourners were in attendance at the funeral, with attendees noting that those assembled broke into spontaneous and prolonged applause at various points during Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re’s homily. Following the funeral, Francis’s casket was placed in the popemobile for one final journey through the city, as mourners lined the streets. He was laid to rest in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, inside a tomb made of slate stone sourced from his grandparents’ birthplace of Liguria. The structure is simply inscribed “Franciscus” and bears an image of his pectoral cross.
In the exclusive Vanity Fair images below, award-winning photographer Alex Majoli brings us photos from the historic day. For over a year, Alex Majoli has been participating in the photographic project “Open City 2025. Rome in the Jubilee Year,” which will be exhibited at the Vi-VE Museum in Rome, opening on June 25, 2025.
The post Pope Francis Laid to Rest in Sun-Drenched Vatican Funeral as Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Prince William Look On appeared first on Vanity Fair.
