Approximately 250,000 people followed the mass from the square or nearby on giant screens. The rest lined the route of the funeral procession to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The Catholic Church closes a chapter,

World leaders, cardinals and at least 250,000 of the faithful gathered in the Vatican on Saturday morning to bid farewell to Pope Francis.

Cardinals will meet next month to pick Francis' successor, deciding if the new pope should continue with the late pontiff's push for a more open Church or cede to conservatives who want to return to a more traditional papacy.