Pope Francis, the first pope to be of that name and the 266th pope of the Catholic Church, died on April 20th of 2025.
His time as pope was marked with inclusivity and support of other religions and ethnic groups like the Palestinians. In fact, The Palestinians expressed their gratitude for his support and empathy for them, and sent their Prime Minister, Mohammad Mustafa, to his funeral.
While The Pope did have warm relations with the Palestinians, the same can not be said about his relationship with the Israelis. Francis’ relationship with Israel wasn’t exactly poor, but there are certainly tensions from the war in Gaza and other areas of the middle east. In November of 2024, Pope Francis posed the question to the international community whether Israel’s offensive into Gaza should be considered a genocide or not, which Israel ferociously denied.
This tension can be noticed in the absence of Israeli leaders at The Pope’s funeral, and the original message from the @Israel account on X expressing their condolences to the Vatican and Catholic community. The message featured the following photo of Pope Francis at the Western Wall of Jerusalem in 2014 with the words “May his memory be a blessing.”
Who was at Pope Francis’ funeral?
Some notable names that attended Pope Francis’ funeral were U.S. President Donald Trump, William, the Prince of Wales, former U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky were seen before the funeral in a deep discussion with one another. The White House detailed the roughly 15 minute discussion as “very productive” and President Zelensky noted it as “very symbolic” despite their heated arguments in the last couple of weeks.
What was the ceremony like?
Pope Francis will be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, a church built in the late stages of the Roman Empire dedicated to Mary. Nobody has been buried there since the 17th century and Pope Francis was so dedicated to Mary that he would visit the Basilica after each of his hundreds of trips abroad and pray.
The Pope’s funeral arrangements were made by his camerlengo (chief of staff). The Pope’s Fisherman ring, a ring that is custom made for each Pope that is engraved with the image of a fisherman, was defaced after he was declared dead to prevent anyone else from wearing it.
Pope Francis was placed in a wooden coffin, dressed in a white cassock and red vestments and displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica where the public was able to view him for 3 days. Then, Pope Francis was carried to his burial site, and after prayers and sprinkling of holy water, his coffin was closed and he was laid to rest.