Fri Apr 25 21:40:00 UTC 2025: ## Hundreds of Thousands Mourn Pope Francis in Final Farewell
**Vatican City** – An estimated 250,000 people from around the globe paid their respects to Pope Francis during his three-day lying in state at St. Peter’s Basilica, concluding Friday evening. Long queues snaked through St. Peter’s Square as mourners waited hours to file past the late pontiff’s open coffin, which was displayed on a dais at the central altar. The basilica remained open for extended hours, closing only briefly overnight.
Many expressed deep emotion, highlighting Francis’s humility, his efforts to reform the Catholic Church, and his historic position as the first pope from the Americas. Patricio Castriota, a visitor from Argentina, described the experience as “very sad, but…I thank God that I was able to see him.” He praised Francis for his attempts to “clean up… the bad” within the Church. Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo lauded the late pope for “humanising the church, without desacralising it.”
While hundreds were turned away as the viewing period closed, the Vatican reported that at least 130 foreign delegations, including approximately 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs, will attend Saturday’s funeral Mass. This high-profile gathering will see an unusual convergence of global leaders, including US President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The presence of these leaders, spanning diverse political ideologies, underscores the global impact of Pope Francis’s papacy.
Following the public viewing, a private ceremony took place to seal the coffin, which will include twelve coins representing each year of Francis’s pontificate, and a document detailing his legacy. The funeral promises to be a significant event, marking the end of a transformative papacy and drawing together world leaders to honor the late pontiff.