Sawt Falasteen - Crowds applaud pope's coffin as Vatican funeral begins

Some waited overnight to get a seat for the ceremony, with police reporting some 150,000 people in the square and surrounding streets even before proceedings began at 10:00am (0900 GMT).

The crowds cheered and applauded as the pope's coffin was brought out of St Peter's Basilica into the square.

Many of the more than 50 heads of state attending the funeral had entered the Basilica beforehand to pay their respects at the coffin of the Argentine pontiff, who died on Monday aged 88.

Guests included Argentina's President Javier Milei and Britain's Prince William as well as Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky -- who met Trump on the sidelines, according to a Ukrainian spokesperson.

Francis sought to steer the centuries-old Church into a more inclusive direction during his 12-year papacy, and his death prompted a global outpouring of emotion.

"He was not just the pope, he was what the definition of being human is," said Andrea Ugalde, 39, who flew from Los Angeles to attend Saturday's mass.

Italian and Vatican authorities have mounted a major security operation for the ceremony, with fighter jets on standby and snipers positioned on roofs surrounding the tiny city state.

But the massive crowd was largely silent as they waited, watching proceedings on several large screens around the square.

"We spent the whole night here in the car with the children," said Peruvian Gabriela Lazo, 41.

"We are very sorry for what happened to him because we hold a South American pope in our hearts."

The funeral sets off the first of nine days of official Vatican mourning for Francis, who took over following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.

After the mourning, cardinals will gather for the conclave to elect a new pope to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

- Diplomatic gathering -

Many of Francis's reforms angered traditionalists, while his criticism of injustices, from the treatment of migrants to the damage wrought by global warming, riled many world leaders.

Yet the former archbishop of Buenos Aires's compassion and charisma earned him global affection and respect.

Trump's administration drew the pontiff's ire for its mass deportation of migrants, but the president arrived late on Friday with his wife Melania to pay tribute to "a good man" who "loved the world".

Making the first foreign trip of his second term, Trump was alongside dozens of leaders from other countries keen to bend his ear over a trade war he unleashed, among other subjects.

Trump's predecessor Joe Biden also attended the funeral, alongside UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, France's Emmanuel Macron and Lebanon's Joseph Aoun.

Israel -- angered by Francis's criticism of its conduct in Gaza -- was sending only its Holy See ambassador. China, which does not have formal relations with the Vatican, did not send any representative at all.

- Simple tomb -

Francis died of a stroke and heart failure less than a month after he left hospital where he had battled pneumonia for five weeks.

He loved nothing more than being among his flock, taking selfies with the faithful and kissing babies, and made it his mission to visit the peripheries, rather than mainstream centres of Catholicism.

His last public act, the day before his death, was an Easter Sunday blessing of the entire world, ending his papacy as he had begun it -- with an appeal to protect the "vulnerable, the marginalised and migrants".

The Jesuit chose to be named after Saint Francis of Assisi, saying he wanted "a poor Church for the poor", and eschewed fine robes and the papal palace.

Instead, the Church's 266th pope lived at a Vatican guesthouse and chose to be interred in his favourite Rome church, Santa Maria Maggiore -- the first pontiff to be buried outside the Vatican walls in more than a century.

His send-off is grand affair, featuring some 224 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests alongside world dignitaries.

Catholics around the world are holding events to watch the proceedings live, including in Buenos Aires.

"The pope showed us that there was another way to live the faith," said Lara Amado, 25.

But the humble pope asked to be put inside a single wooden coffin to be laid in a simple marble tomb.

After the funeral, the coffin will be taken to the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica via the Fori Imperiali -- where Rome's ancient temples lie -- and the Colosseum.

A group of "poor and needy" will greet the hearse on its arrival, the Vatican said.

- Refusal to judge -

Francis's admirers credit him with transforming perceptions of the Church and helping revive the faith following decades of clerical sex abuse scandals.

But he also stuck with some centuries-old dogma, notably holding firm on the Church's opposition to abortion.

The first trip of Francis's papacy was to Lampedusa, an Italian island that is often the first port of call for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, and he visited Greece's Lesbos island, flying 12 refugees home with him.

Some of those refugees are attending his funeral.

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G.AbuGhazaleh--SF-PST