World Leaders to Attend Pope Francis’s Funeral This Saturday

 The funeral of Pope Francis, who died of a stroke on April 21, 2025, at age 88, is set for Saturday, April 26, at St. Peter’s Square, drawing world leaders and pilgrims, per Vatican.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced the death, triggering a nine-day mourning period (novemdiales) culminating in the funeral, led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re at 9 AM. Attendees include US Vice President JD Vance, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, and Spain’s Pedro Sánchez, with 100,000 pilgrims expected.

Francis requested a simple ceremony, with burial at Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, per his 2022 testament, diverging from St. Peter’s Basilica tradition. The Vatican deployed 1,500 security personnel and restricted Rome’s airspace, anticipating crowds rivaling John Paul II’s 2005 funeral. 

Francis’s papacy, marked by refugee advocacy and climate action, ended after a 38-day pneumonia battle, with his Easter Sunday appearance his final act. Critics question the stroke diagnosis, given his April 20 vigor, but Vatican medical reports confirm cerebral thrombosis.