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The six-kilometer funeral procession that carried Pope Francis from St. Peter's to St. Mary Major was filled with profound symbolism, from the Dodge Ram popemobile serving as hearse to white roses representing his devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
The pope’s burial site, at his request, is the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the four papal basilicas in Rome. He joins seven other popes buried there.
“[It was a] good meeting. We discussed a lot one-on-one,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “Hoping for results on everything we covered.”
“The outpouring of affection that we have witnessed ... tells us how much the profound pontificate of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts,” Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said.
Under the bright Roman sun and amid crowds extending down the Via della Conciliazione, the funeral Mass unfolded within the great colonnade of St. Peter’s Basilica.