Huge crowds say farewell to Pope Francis, hailed as a people's hero

Hundreds of thousands of mourners and world leaders including US President Donald Trump packed St Peter's Square yesterday for the funeral of Pope Francis, “pope among the people” and the Catholic Church’s first Latin American leader.

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Some waited overnight to get a seat for the ceremony, with the Vatican reporting some 200,000 people in the square and surrounding streets during the ceremony.

The crowds, packed with young people, applauded as the pope's coffin was carried out of St Peter's Basilica by white gloved pallbearers, accompanied by more than 200 red-robed cardinals.

Francis was “a pope among the people, with an open heart”, who strove for a more compassionate, open-minded Catholic Church, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said in his funeral homily.