Approximately 250,000 people followed the mass from the square or nearby on giant screens. The rest lined the route of the funeral procession to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The Catholic Church closes a chapter,

He will be the first pope to be buried outside of the Vatican in more than a century. Francis chose that site because he prayed there often. It also was a site he frequented often

The honor of delivering the first reading at Pope Francis’ funeral Mass on Saturday fell to Kielce Gussie, an American who works as a reporter with Vatican News. It was, she said on social media, “a great way to say goodbye” to the pontiff.