Pope Francis funeral updates: Pope Francis laid to rest after historic funeral in front of 250,000

President Joe Biden awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction during a phone call in January 2025. It was the only Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction that Biden had awarded at that time.

"Pope Francis, your humility and your grace are beyond words, and your love for all is unparalleled," Biden posted on X. "As the People's Pope, you are a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world."

The Vatican says about 200,000 people have flocked to Pope Francis' funeral mass.

The brief statement did not specify if that was in St. Peter's Square alone.

Mourners were lined up along Via della Conciliazione, which leads up to the Vatican, and followed the Mass on big screens in public squares in Rome, including outside the Santa Maria Major Basilica.

American Kielce Gussie, who works as a journalist at Vatican News, did the first reading in English -- several verses from the Acts of the Apostles -- at the funeral of Pope Francis.

Gussie, originally from Florida, completed her undergraduate degree in theology at Mount St. Mary's University.

American Kielce Gussie, who works as a journalist at Vatican News, did the first reading in English at the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday.

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As the funeral of Pope Francis began, a choir was heard singing an antiphon in Latin, a short verse which is traditionally sung or recited in Christian liturgical ritual.

An open Book of the Gospels was then placed on top of Pope Francis' coffin as the service started.

Tens of thousands flocked to the funeral in a packed St. Peter's Square, which Francis choreographed himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican's rites and rituals last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.