Pope Francis funeral live: Trump and Zelensky meet in Vatican as mourners told pontiff wanted to ‘build bridges’
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky held “productive” talks in the Vatican, shortly before the historic funeral of Pope Francis played out in front of some 200,000 mourners.
Pictured face-to-face for a spontaneous meeting in St Peter’s Basilica, the pair held “productive discussions”, a White House official said. They were later joined by Sir Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron.
Soon after the meeting, the solemn funeral brought closure to a 12-year papacy marked by humility, simplicity, and the championing of the world’s poorest.
Leading the service, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re echoed one of Francis’ strongest criticisms of Mr Trump, as the US president watched on alongside major world leaders.
The Cardinal made a call to “build bridges, not walls”, in a speech which called for compassion towards migrants, an end to wars, and action on global climate change – Francis’ favourite political themes.
Thousands now hope to catch a short glimpse of Francis’ wooden coffin as it passes to its final burial place in the Basilica of St Mary Major.
The 88-year-old Pontiff died on Monday from a stroke, followed by several days of mourning for the Argentinian.
