The Catholic Church and many others came together for a final farewell to Pope Francis at his funeral in Vatican City Saturday morning, a gathering that united several world leaders and faithful Catholics.
While the farewell to Francis was the center of the occasion, there were several other key takeaways from the large gathering Saturday, including moments relating to domestic and international politics.
Trump and Biden both pay respects, four rows apart
President Donald Trump and his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, were both at St. Peter’s Square for the funeral, marking the first time they were at the same place since the Jan. 20 inauguration in Washington, D.C.
While Trump was seated in one of the front rows with top world leaders, Biden was seated further back with his wife Jill — four rows away from the president.
The former president had an additional reason to attend the funeral, aside from having met with Francis during his lone term, as he is Catholic himself. Trump is not Catholic, and in 2020, he said he considers himself to be a “non-denominational” Christian.
When Francis died, Biden offered his condolences and called him “unlike any who came before him.”
Biden had a much warmer relationship with the pope than Trump did. The latter was the subject of harsh criticism from the Argentinian pontiff during both of his administrations, largely over his border policies and stance on illegal immigration.
Trump and Zelensky meet in St. Peter’s Basilica
While Trump was at the Vatican to mourn Francis, he also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time face-to-face since their disastrous Oval Office meeting earlier this year.
The White House shared an image of the discussion, while Zelensky called it a “good meeting” and thanked Trump for it.
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
“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 become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you @POTUS,” Zelensky posted on X.
The meeting came after Trump took a harsher tone with Russian President Vladimir Putin over attacks Russia conducted on Ukraine earlier this week, after previously being more critical of the Ukrainian side. Trump and U.S. officials have been working on a peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, but have warned they could walk away from the process if there is no progress.
Hours after the meeting, Trump slammed Putin for “shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” saying he had “no reason” to do so. The president threatened to deal with Putin “differently” if he doesn’t stop “tapping me along” or essentially stalling peace negotiations.
He said on Truth Social, “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
Leaders from around the world mourn Francis
Along with Trump, Biden, and Zelensky, several other world leaders took to St. Peter’s Square to attend the funeral mass for Francis.
From the United Kingdom, Prince William and Prime Minister Keir Starmer were in attendance. They were joined by French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Argentinian President Javier Milei, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Estonian President Alar Karis, among others.
TRUMP PAYS HIS RESPECTS TO A POPE WHO PUBLICLY AND POINTEDLY DISAGREED WITH HIM
As Francis’s body was taken out of Vatican City and into Rome toward his final resting place at St. Mary Major Basilica, crowds gathered around the route to bid farewell to the pope.
The papal conclave to select a successor to Francis is set to begin in the coming weeks, as cardinals from around the world gather in Vatican City to help select a new pope.