Up First from NPR
Pope Francis's Funeral Ceremony; Gaza Goes Hungry Under Israeli Blockade
Sat, 26 Apr 2025
We report live from St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, where Pope Francis's funeral is taking place. Plus, the U.N.'s food agency says it is running out of food to distribute to people in Gaza two months into an Israeli blockade.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is happening at Pope Francis's funeral in Vatican City?
Mourners gathered today for Pope Francis' funeral in Vatican City.
The part have passed away on Monday. At the age of 88, I'm Scott Simon in Washington, D.C.
Chapter 2: Who are the key reporters covering the funeral live from Rome?
And I'm Lauren Frayer at St. Peter's Square in Rome. And this is Up First from NPR News. I'm live on the edge of St. Peter's Square in front of the Vatican, where large crowds have been paying their respects to Pope Francis.
We'll have more on the ceremony and how it reflects on Pope Francis' legacy.
Plus, the UN's Food Agency says it has delivered the last of its food supplies in Gaza, which remains under Israeli blockade.
So please stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. With WISE, you can send, spend, or receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate. No markups or hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit WISE.com. T's and C's apply. This message comes from Monday.com. Work management platforms. Red tape. Endless adoption time. IT bottlenecks.
And after all that, nobody really uses them. But what if you didn't hate your work platforms? What if you actually loved it? Monday.com work management platform is different. You can make any changes you want and adapt it to your needs in an instant. No admin middleman. That's why people actually love using it. Monday.com the first work platform you'll love to use.
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An estimated 200,000 people attended the funeral mass for Pope Francis today.
Of course, that includes heads of state from all over the world. And Lauren, you're there in St. Peter's Square along with our colleagues Sylvia Poggioli and Ruth Sherlock. Lauren, let's start with you. Tell us, please, what you're seeing.
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of the diverse attendees at the funeral?
The day began with bells tolling across this city and at the Basilica here, and then a homage of global leaders, royals, military men and women. The cobblestone streets of Rome have been lined with people in some places, 20 people deep, applauding as the Popemobile carried Francis out of the Vatican for the last time.
past Roman ruins, past the Colosseum, to his final resting place in an immigrant neighborhood. And Scott, one of the things that strikes me, while these were very traditional Catholic rites, this has been a very interfaith commemoration. There have been Muslim clerics here. I saw a person in a Native American feather headdress, European royals with medals pinned on their coats next to
Latin American nuns next to African leaders in military dress, a very global send-off for Pope Francis.
And Silvia Poggioli, you covered Pope Francis on so many papal trips around the world. What signs did you see of his global legacy there today?
Oh, there was huge evidence of his global outreach here. There were, as Lauren said, representatives of many of the world's religions. And the Mass was sprinkled with readings in many languages, not just Latin, Italian, and English, but also Arabic, Polish, and Chinese. Pope Francis made many foreign trips. I went on several to Cuba, the U.S., several African countries, and the Middle East.
And in his homily, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, mentioned in particular the one in 2021 to Iraq, which has some of the world's oldest Christian communities. and where the Cardinal said Pope Francis defied every risk, providing what he called a balm on the open wounds of the Iraqi people who had suffered so much from the inhuman actions of ISIS.
It was also on that trip that Francis visited the Shiite Ayatollah Sistani in Najaf, part of his outreach to the world of Islam.
And our colleague NPR's Ruth Sherlock has been wading through the crowds of faithful all day today. Ruth, what are people telling you out there?
Well, Lauren, there are people who traveled all night to be at this funeral. There was, for example, Antonella Marcuz, who took a bus from Austria to arrive at dawn in Rome. This means so much to her, and you can hear the emotion in her voice.
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Chapter 4: How did Pope Francis's global outreach manifest during the ceremony?
She's crying, and, you know, she talks about how much Pope Francis meant, like you mentioned, for bringing different faiths together. And you have stories like this all over the square. I spoke with Bishop Thomas Masters, who was in the crowd dressed in his bright purple bishop robes, and I asked him why he chose to make this long trip from Florida to be here.
I honor Pope Francis in so many different ways. Human rights, he was there. Justice... He was there fighting for the underdog, if I can use that expression, the people, the poor, the impoverished. He was there. And he did not use his position to be above and beyond others. The pope used his position to be with the common people.
St. Peter's Square is surrounded by these semi-circles of colonnades with statues of Catholic saints all around. And that threw open to this bright blue sky, and many people in the crowd told me they felt as though Pope Francis might be looking down on this event from above.
Sylvia, a solemn religious day, of course, but politics don't take the day off. President Trump was there, so was Ukraine's President Zelensky and former President Biden. How did all that work?
Well, the crowd watching the ceremony on big video screens in the square made their opinion known. Clearly, they were silent when President Trump and the First Lady arrived and broke out into loud applause when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared.
The White House confirmed Trump and Zelensky met briefly before the ceremony, and we've seen a photo of the two of them seated in chairs inside St. Peter's Basilica, arms on knees, huddling deep in conversation. The seating order of all the other big, many delegations was very interesting. It was by name of nation in the alphabetical order of French, the language of diplomacy. The U.S.
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Chapter 5: What are the personal stories and emotions of the mourners at St. Peter's Square?
has the letter E for Etats-Unis, so President Trump sat between the representatives of Estonia and Finland. There was also a strict dress code. Many men wore black ties. Many women had the recommended long black dress, heads covered by a black veil or lace mantilla. One of the most striking moments was during the homily.
With President Trump sitting nearby, Cardinal Rea recalled a famous quote of Francis, build bridges, not walls, one of the Pope's strongest criticisms of the U.S. president's policy of deporting migrants.
Ruth, you followed Pope Francis' funeral cortege across Rome to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where he's now been laid to rest. What's the scene there?
Well, of course, there were crowds of people outside this church that were so dear to Francis. You know, this basilica is home to an icon, a painting of Mother Mary and baby Jesus that Francis would pray to before and after every trip out of Rome. And one of the priorities of his papacy was Francis' care for the poor and the disadvantaged.
And he was known, for example, to slip out of the Vatican to visit homeless shelters nearby there. And this was also the final focus of this funeral, too. a group of people from disadvantaged backgrounds were invited to be by the entrance of St Mary Major. People without homes, migrants, prisoners, victims of war.
It was a fitting end that these people should be the final people to say goodbye to this Pope.
And Silvia Paglioli, you covered this entire papacy from the moment that Pope Francis first stepped out onto the steps to greet the people to today. What are your thoughts?
Well, I'm sitting here looking at this grand Baroque square, and I think it's very much this architecture is a representation of the temporal power of the Catholic Church. One of the characteristics is trompe d'oeil, optical illusion. I think that's a metaphor that helps us understand the Vatican's modus operandi, shifting perspectives, always using the conditional.
That's the opposite of how Francis thought and acted. He was always very direct and assertive. It'll be interesting to see if his straightforward style will change the Vatican's centuries-old secrecy and vagueness. We'll have a better idea next week or maybe in 10 days or so when we see who the cardinals pick as France's successor in the upcoming conclave.
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Chapter 6: How did political figures influence the atmosphere at the funeral?
Bye, Scott.
Thank you, Scott. Thanks so much.
It's been eight weeks since Israel's blockade cut off aid to Gaza. That includes medical supplies and food.
Israel says the blockade and bombardment are intended to compel Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal and return the remaining hostages.
Now the UN's Food Agency says that it has run out of supplies to distribute in Gaza, and this has deepened the humanitarian crisis that's faced by roughly two million Palestinians who are there. And Piers Hadil Al-Shulchi joins us. Thank you for being with us.
Good morning, Scott.
No aid since the beginning of March. What's the current situation like?
Right. So the UN's World Food Program announced yesterday that it has run out of food stocks that it supplies to charity kitchens that make meals for Palestinians. You know, about half of Gaza's population depends on it. Israel says it's blocked the aid because it wants Hamas to hand over more hostages and it accuses Hamas of stealing the aid.
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Chapter 7: What was the final resting place and message during Pope Francis's funeral?
Chapter 8: What is the current humanitarian situation in Gaza under Israeli blockade?
Plus, the UN's Food Agency says it has delivered the last of its food supplies in Gaza, which remains under Israeli blockade.
So please stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. With WISE, you can send, spend, or receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate. No markups or hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit WISE.com. T's and C's apply. This message comes from Monday.com. Work management platforms. Red tape. Endless adoption time. IT bottlenecks.
And after all that, nobody really uses them. But what if you didn't hate your work platforms? What if you actually loved it? Monday.com work management platform is different. You can make any changes you want and adapt it to your needs in an instant. No admin middleman. That's why people actually love using it. Monday.com the first work platform you'll love to use.
This message comes from CBC Podcasts. In the wake of 9-11, anthrax-laced letters unleashed a new wave of terror across the nation. But who was behind the attacks? And why has America nearly forgotten this story? Listen to Aftermath, Hunt for the Anthrax Killer, now.
An estimated 200,000 people attended the funeral mass for Pope Francis today.
Of course, that includes heads of state from all over the world. And Lauren, you're there in St. Peter's Square along with our colleagues Sylvia Poggioli and Ruth Sherlock. Lauren, let's start with you. Tell us, please, what you're seeing.
Scott, we've just stepped into a Renaissance painting. I'm looking up at the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, etched across these deep blue skies and puffs of white clouds rolling past. This square in front of the basilica swelled with people today and with colors. Cardinals in bright red, nuns in black and white, monks in brown robes.
The day began with bells tolling across this city and at the Basilica here, and then a homage of global leaders, royals, military men and women. The cobblestone streets of Rome have been lined with people in some places, 20 people deep, applauding as the Popemobile carried Francis out of the Vatican for the last time.
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