Pope Francis funeral live updates: Cardinal's sermon stresses Pontiff's call for Trump to ‘build bridges, not walls’

Pope Francis Funeral Live Updates: The funeral for Pope Francis, the Argentinian pontiff who headed the Roman Catholic Church for over 12 years, began on Saturday at Rome's St Peter's Basilica. The pontiff died on Monday at the age of 88 years. Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, and EU leader Ursula von der Leyen were among those photographed attending the death rites. Pope Francis will be put to rest at Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica.

Several foreign leaders, including Indian President Droupadi Murmu and US President Donald Trump, arrived in Rome for the pontiff's funeral and paid their final respects. Pope Francis' funeral began at 10 a.m. local time (1:30 p.m. IST) on Saturday morning. His casket will be transported from St Peter's Basilica to the public square. Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will preside over the burial liturgy, which will also be attended by 220 cardinals, 750 bishops and priests at the altar, and around 4,000 priests in the square.

The funeral liturgy is anticipated to end around 11:45 a.m. local time (about 3:15 p.m. IST), after which the Pope's coffin will be carried for burial. Pope Francis will be buried privately, but his tomb will be open to the public beginning Sunday morning, the Vatican announced.