Pope Francis funeral updates: Francis mourned by sea of faithful in St. Peter’s Square

Francis, 88, died on Monday at the Vatican.

Last Updated: April 26, 2025, 5:36 AM EDT

Pope Francis, the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, will be buried Saturday at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major after dying one week ago at 88 years old.

Francis, who took his name after Saint Francis of Assisi, was known for his outreach to the poor and those in poverty and that will be reflected in his minimalist burial at Saint Mary Major. He is the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in over a century and the first to be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore in more than 300 years.

ABC News Live streaming coverage of the funeral will begin on Saturday at 3:30 a.m. ET, while it will also air on local ABC stations and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

The Holy Communion is being offered among the cardinals at the funeral of Pope Francis.

After the cardinals receive the Holy Communion, they will then offer it among the crowd throughout St. Peter’s Square.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist is being read at the funeral of Pope Francis — which is where bread and wine are consecrated, becoming the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

It is a central act of worship in the Catholic church where believers and worshippers participate in the eternal sacrifice of Christ.

About 200,000 people are attending the funeral of Pope Francis, according to the Vatican press office.

Faithful attend Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican on April 26, 2025.

Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images

-ABC News’ Phoebe Natanson

The Italian news agency Ansa is reporting that the pope’s hearse will be a popemobile.

Francis rode a popemobile through St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday, the day before he died.

A view of St Peter’s Square during the funeral of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025.

For the funeral procession from St. Peter’s to Santa Maria Maggiore, where he is to be buried, the back end of a popemobile that Francis had used has been adapted, ANSA reported.

The open vehicle will allow mourners to see the pope’s coffin pass through the streets of Rome at the end of the funeral, the ANSA report said.