Pope Francis laid to rest after funeral

Pope Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church has been buried in Rome on Saturday after a funeral ceremony attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

People from all strata including world leaders and Catholics gathered for the funeral Mass in St. Peter's Square and bid farewell to the Pope.

President Alexander Stubb attended the funeral and paid tributes to Pope Francis.

“It was an honour to represent Finland at the funeral of Pope Francis. Participants from around the world gathered to pay their respect to Pope Francis and his life's work,” Stubb wrote in a post on his social media platform X after the funeral.

US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary-General António Guterres were among others participated in the funeral.

According to Vatican estimates, some 250,000 people flocked to the funeral at the Vatican while 150,000 more lined the motorcade route through Rome to witness the funeral.

The Pope's coffin was carried through Rome in a slow procession to the church of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial.

Pope Francis was buried in the righthand side of the church, near a beloved icon of the Virgin Mary.

The first South American pontiff, Pope Francis died on April 21 at the age of 88.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on Dec. 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Francis was head of the Roman Catholic Church since 2013.

Finnish leaders including Stubb, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen expressed condolence at the death of Pope Francis.