Pope Francis laid to rest in Rome after funeral attended by thousands

Mourners gather at the Vatican to honour pontiff in an emotional farewell filled with prayer and reflection. Rome, Italy – About 250,000 mourners in Vatican City fell into hushed silence on Saturday morning as the funeral for Pope Francis began. Just after 10am (08:00 GMT), the pope’s coffin was brought out of St Peter’s Basilica. Maffei said he had found Francis’s funeral “very touching” and full of simple words and messages of love that still “carried great weight”. Maffei said he believed Francis would have enjoyed seeing so many people walking through Rome and tackling the uphill stretch by Largo Magnanapoli.