Five historical moments from Pope Francis’ funeral

Pope Francis’ funeral was held at St. Peter’s Square, where tens of thousands of people and more than 100 official delegations attended, including leaders of states such as US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski.

The attendees were also Europe’s leading personalities, such as European Commission President Ursula von der Laien, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Kir Starmer.

Five historical moments from Pope Francis’ funeral

With the presence of so many leaders from all over the world, Pope Francis’ funeral has also become one of the most important international rallies of the year, According to Euronews.

Here are five decisive moments of the day:

One of the most impressive images came from a spontaneous meeting in the Vatican.

Photos published by the presidency of Kiev show Zelenski, Trump, Macron and Starmer concentrated in a marble room before the funeral, with Macron supporting Zelenski on his shoulder.

Good meeting. We Discussed a lot One on One. Hoping for Results on Everything We Covered. Protecting Lives of Our People. Full and Unconditional Ceasefire. Reliable and Lasting Peace That Will Prevent Another War from Breaking Out. Very Symbolic Meeting that has potential to… pic.twitter.com/q4zhvxcjw0

– Volodymyr Zelenskyy / володимир зеленський (@zelenskyyua) April 26, 2025

Trump and Zelenski also had a private, 15 -minute conversation, seeing each other in the eyes, in the Basilica of St. Peter. The two men were sitting face -to -face in the center of a marble room, without any assistant or advisor near them, indicating a private and immediate conversation between them.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung described the meeting as « very productive », with plans for further discussions later on the same day.

This immediate and seemingly cordial interaction is intense with the recent public tensions between the two leaders.

In a post on social media X, Zelenski said the meeting was good and that it had the prerequisites to become historical.

At another remarkable moment during the funeral, Trump participated in the Catholic ritual known as the « sign of peace ».

He exchanged handshakes with his neighbors: Finnish President Alexander Stubb, with whom he recently played golf in Florida, and Estonian President Alar Karis.

But he also impressed his hand to clap the hand of French President Emmanuel Macron, who was sitting a short distance.

In universal function, the « sign of peace » takes place after « our Father » and before society, when believers are called upon to exchange a gesture of peace between them, usually handshake, bowing or hug, depending on tradition.

The handshake with Macron has been possible thanks to last -minute changes in the layout of the seats in the first row, as the Vatican protocol was set aside for this unprecedented event.

Trump and the First Mrs. Melania, as well as Zelenski, sat in the first row with other major leaders, underlining the international significance of the funeral.

On the steps of St. Peter’s Square, President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Laeen exchanged handshakes.

It was their first meeting since January 21, 2020, when the two met at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

This is the second official meeting between Trump and von der Laien, Von der Leyen X

Although short and limited to typical courtesy, the interaction was warm, despite recent transatlantic tensions on trade duties.

Von der Laien told social media X that he « had good exchanges » with several of the leaders who gathered to pay the last tribute to the Pope.

It remains unclear how many other leaders was met by Trump during his brief stay in Rome. He reportedly spoke soon with the German Chancellor Olaf Salts, but also with Prince William of Wales.

Zelenski made a remarkable change in his typical military costume for the funeral, choosing dark clothes.

Keeping his military appearance, Zelenski chose an elegant black jacket with front pockets and more informal cut, combined with a dark shirt instead of his typical t -shirt and dark boots.

From Russia’s complete invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Zelenski wears a steadily informal military costume as a symbol of solidarity with the soldiers on the front.

However, the choice of Zelenski’s clothing had previously sparked reactions during his last visit to Washington, where a journalist’s question about his unofficial costume changed the tone of the event for a while.

His choice to dress more formally for the funeral marked a significant, though thin, change for the official occasion.

During his speech, Cardinal Giovanni Batista, Rector of the Cardinal College, praised Pope Francis’ steadfast support to immigrants and marginalized – comments that some saw as a strong reprimand to President Trump.

Reference referred to Pope Francis’ visits to Lesvos and Lampedusa, two islands that symbolize « the tragedy of immigration, with thousands of people drowning in the sea », but also to the function of Pope Francis on the Mexican-US border.

Cardinal Re.

The crowd responded with spontaneous applause, especially during the calls of Peace and a dialogue in view of the war and the disaster – a moving culmination of the ceremony.

« Faced with the fierce wars of recent years, with his inhumane atrocities and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis continually raises his voice, begging for peace and calling for reasonable and honest negotiations, »