The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis has been buried today, Saturday, April 26, at Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, which sits outside the Vatican walls in the centre of Rome.
The confirmation came at 2.16pm Nigeria time.
At least 400,000 people gathered in Vatican City for Pope Francis’ funeral and lined the streets to watch his coffin being taken to the Santa Maria Maggiore church for burial, according to Italy’s interior minister.
“We estimate not fewer than 400,000 people between those present in St Peter’s Square and those along the route,” Matteo Piantedosi tells Italian news programme TG5 .
The funeral brought together politicians, royalty and mourners.
Pope Francis “touched minds and hearts” and wanted to “build bridges, not walls”, said the dean of the college of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who led the funeral service, attended by IS President Donald Trump and several world leaders.
Aside Trump, dozens of leaders and dignitaries included Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky, and Prince William, joined mourners who lined the streets of Rome and gathered inside St Peter’s Square itself.
At the funeral, Cardinal Re delivered the homily, remembering Pope Francis and his legacy and saying in part: “The outpouring of affection that we have witnessed in recent days following his passing from this earth into eternity tells us how much the profound pontificate of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts.”
In the church, the US president sat with other heads of state in the front row, close to the steps of St Peter’s Basilica. And intriguingly he and First Lady Melania sat between two staunch supporters of Ukraine -Estonia’s President Alar Karis to Melania’s left, and Finland’s Alexander Stubb to Trump’s right.
While the main focus was on the funeral service, considerable attention was also focused on potential diplomatic moves on the sidelines, with Zelensky having earlier met with both Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
