There was ceremonial fanfare and a high profile VIP guestlist, but it was the genuine love from the common people at Pope Francis’s funeral that would have pleased a man who valued the ordinary and marginalised, over the rich and powerful.

As the sun shone down on a cool day in St Peter’s Square in Rome, 250,000 came out to farewell the ‘People’s Pope’, whose humility and humble approach arguably made him more popular than any pontiff before him.

Some had slept on the streets to ensure they got a spot, others got up in the early hours and queued calmly. Once in the square, children could be heard singing hymns, others played cards, or napped on the shoulders of their neighbours.

As the funeral started people were seen kneeling, some weeping, others held aloft photos of the pope, or signs they had made with personal messages of their love for him.

Among them were the Catholic faithful, the every man who had grown to love Francis whatever their beliefs, and tourists who took the opportunity to experience a moment in history.

The Australian mourners included a group of pilgrims from Catholic schools in Cairns, who had travelled to Rome to take part in the Easter services and saw the pope on Easter Sunday, the day before he died.

More

• ‘Very personal reason’: Why Pope chose to break tradition with his final burial place
• ‘Simpler path’: Pope Francis’ final humble gesture
• Conclave: Movie skyrockets following death of Pope Francis
• Watch: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re delivers the homily

Attendees

• Rome: Why Julian Assange is at Pope Francis’s funeral
• Pic: Zelensky, Trump meet on sidelines of funeral
• ‘Path of peace’: Troubled world unites at Pope’s funeral

Have a good night.