President Droupadi Murmu attends funeral Mass of Pope Francis

Vatican City: President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday attended the funeral Mass of Pope Francis at St Peter’s Square here.

Francis, who was the first non-European Pope in nearly 1,300 years, died on Monday. He was 88.

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju; Minister of State for Minority Affairs, George Kurian, and Deputy Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly, Joshua De Souza, who are part of the official Indian delegation led by the President, also attended the ceremony.

“President Droupadi Murmu attended the funeral Mass of His Holiness Pope Francis at St Peter’s Square in Vatican City,” her office said in a post on X.

“A solemn moment of prayer & reflection, bidding farewell to a guiding light of faith & humanity,” Rijiju described the experience in a post on X.

De Souza also took to X and said he was “humbled to witness this historic moment.” “It was a profoundly moving occasion, paying tribute to a life dedicated to service, compassion, and faith,” he said and added: “A farewell of great significance that united the world in prayer.” World leaders and a large number of Catholic followers attended Pope Francis' funeral on Saturday.

“Over a quarter of a million people from all walks of life gathered in St Peter’s Square on Saturday to bid their final farewell to Pope Francis at his Requiem Mass,” the Vatican News, a service provided by the Holy See's Dicastery for Communication, said.

Pope Francis was buried in the side aisle of the Basilica of St Mary Major, between the Pauline Chapel, where his beloved icon of Our Lady ‘Salus Populi Romani’ is located, and the Sforza Chapel, it said in a post on X.

Earlier, President Murmu and the Indian delegation reached here on Friday on a two-day visit to offer condolences on behalf of the government and people of India.

Soon after arrival, she paid homage to Pope Francis at the Basilica of St Peter here.

India had declared a three-day state mourning on the passing of Pope Francis.