After mourners were criticised for taking selfies with the body of Pope Francis earlier this week, you would think the world’s leaders would consider leaving their phones in their pockets for the pontiff’s funeral.
However, a number of dignitaries couldn’t resist pulling out their mobiles to take pictures and videos of the late Pope’s humble wooden casket as it was back towards St Peter’s Basilica.
As many in the front row – including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Finland‘s President Alexander Stubb – burst into applause, those further back could be seen holding their devices aloft.
Following his death at the age of 88 on Monday, Pope Francis was today bid goodbye by some 250,000 mourners, including top global leaders and dignitaries.
Those in attendance included Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, as well as Prince William for the UK.
US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania were in attendance, as were the majority of European leaders, including Emmanual Macron, Olaf Scholz and Georgia Meloni.
Notably, while Ukrainian President Zelensky and his wife were present, Putin did not attend.
Monarchies from all over the world also sent representatives, with ten reigning monarchs also in attendance.
A number of dignitaries couldn’t resist pulling out their mobiles to take pictures and videos of the late Pope’s humble wooden casket
Some guests were seen blatantly taking photos rather than joining in with the solemnity of the moment
Following his death at the age of 88 on Monday, Pope Francis was today bid goodbye by some 250,000 mourners, including top global leaders and dignitaries.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump sit alongside leaders as they attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Square at the Vatican
While most of the dignitaries stood respectfully throughout the service, some were spotted making a faux-pas as Pope Francis’ coffin left St Paul’s Square and returned to the Basilica, ahead of its journey to his final resting place.
Attendees further back in the seating plan were spotted taking photographs and videos of the coffin while others stood looking somberly on.
Elsewhere, Joe Biden was spotted taking selfies with several officials – but not while the service was ongoing.
It came after President Trump was accused of breaking strict Vatican dress code by wearing a pin of the American flag on his left lapel.
During the funeral, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re – who led the service – said: ‘The final image we have of him, which will remain etched in our memory, in our eyes and our hearts is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessings from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
‘He then came down to this square to greet from his open pope-mobile the large crowd gathered for the Easter mass.’
Cardinal Re also said the Pope ‘incessantly raised his voice’ for peace and urged people to ‘build bridges not walls’.
The Vatican said more than 250,000 people attended the funeral.
Others who attended include the Prince of Wales – who attended on behalf of the King, Sir Keir and his wife Victoria, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Irish President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tanaiste Simon Harris, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and Michelle O’Neill, the First Minister of Northern Ireland.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska attend the funeral of Pope Francis
Hundreds of world leaders, members of global monarchies and other senior officials attended the service in Rome today
During the funeral, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re – who led the service – paid tribute to Pope Francis’ campaigns for peace
Hundreds of thousands of mourners turned out to the funeral service, cramming into the square and surrounding streets
Before the funeral William, side by side with Sir Keir, stood for a moment’s silence in front of Pope Francis’s sealed wooden and zinc coffin in its place before the altar in St Peter’s Basilica.
It is the first time the prince has represented the monarch at an international funeral.
William spoke briefly to US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on his way into the service.
The seating plan was based on a complex order of precedence, with Argentina – the country of the Pope’s birth – and Italy at the front.
Other sovereigns, heads of state, and heads of government were then seated in alphabetical order of their countries’ names in the French language – used because French is considered the language of diplomacy.
Cardinal Re also told the crowd Pope Francis was ‘a pope among the people’ who ‘truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time’.
The cardinal said: ‘He was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone.
‘He was also a pope attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church, with his characteristic vocabulary and language rich in images and metaphors, he always sought to shed light on the problems of our time with the wisdom of the gospel.’
The seating plan for dignitaries was based on a complex order of precedence, with Argentina – the country of the Pope’s birth – and Italy at the front
Pope Francis was the first South American pope, and in recognition of his nationality Argentine President Javier Milei (end of front row) was given a front row seat
Prince William attended the service on behalf of King Charles and was seated next to Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany
The cardinal added: ‘He had great spontaneity and an informal way of addressing everyone, even those far from the Church. Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time.
‘He gave of himself by comforting and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching people’s hearts in a direct and immediate way.
‘His charisma of welcome and listening combined with a manner of behaviour in keeping with today’s sensitivities touched hearts and sought to reawaken moral and spiritual sensibilities.’
Crowds at the funeral applauded as the pontiff’s coffin was brought back into St Peter’s Basilica after the open-air mass.
It was then taken via police motorcade to Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, where Pope Francis will be buried during a private ceremony.
He will be the first Pope not to be buried at the Vatican in 100 years.
Elsewhere, Trump and Zelensky met before the funeral and spoke about the war in Ukraine.
White House communications director Steven Cheung said the pair ‘had a very productive discussion’.
Mr Zelensky’s spokesman, Serhii Nykyforov, said the meeting lasted around 15 minutes.
A photograph of the two leaders shows them sitting opposite one another on chairs within St Peter’s Basilica, after both had paid their respects in front of the pontiff’s coffin.
The face-to-face meeting is the pair’s first since their tempestuous clash in the White House at the end of February.
