Vatican City, April 26 : President Droupadi Murmu attended the funeral Mass of Pope Francis at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City on Saturday, joining other world leaders in paying tribute to the late pontiff.
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Minority Affairs, George Kurian and Deputy Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, Joshua De Souza, who are part of the official Indian delegation, also attended the ceremony.
In a post on X, Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, wrote, "President Droupadi Murmu attended the funeral Mass of His Holiness Pope Francis at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City, along with other World leaders. President Murmu was accompanied by Minister Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju and Minister of State Minister for Minority Affairs, George Kurian at the ceremony."
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Around 2,00,000 people descended on St Peter's Square, the Vatican said, to mark the death of Pope Francis - the first Latin American pontiff. The funeral began Saturday with an elaborate set of rituals at the square, six days after where Francis made his final public appearance for Easter, as per CNN.
Pope Francis was interred at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, the Vatican said earlier in the day, as per CNN.
The "rite of the Entombment of the Roman Pontiff" began at 1 pm local time, in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the "camerlengo" who had been tasked with making arrangements for Francis' funeral, and who will soon help organise a conclave to choose Francis' successor. The ceremony concluded at 1.30 pm, the Vatican added.
Francis is the first pope in more than a century to be buried outside the walls of the Vatican. In his will, the late pontiff asked that his tomb be inscribed only with the word: "Franciscus," as per CNN.