ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Funeral proceedings for the late Pope Francis took place on Saturday in the Vatican, with global leaders and dignitaries gathering to celebrate the life of the Argentine pontiff.

In a ceremony attended by more than 50 world leaders, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re dubbed the pontiff “a pope among the people,” lauding how he shunned the trappings of wealth and sought to make “direct contact” with the marginalized.

Pope Francis garnered a reputation as a humble and munificent leader, seeking to modernize aspects of Catholic doctrine and emphasizing the salience of forgiveness and tolerance in the Christian tradition during his 12-year tenure.

The ceremony itself took place in Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican, with the Pope’s body having lain in the nearby Basilica in recent days.

In addition to high-profile attendees, throngs of worshippers flocked to the ceremony, with the Vatican estimating that over 200,000 people gathered in the vicinity of the square.

A diplomatic sideshow took place during the funeral proceedings, with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky meeting for the first time since their heated exchange in the Oval Office in February, with a White House statement describing their conversation as “productive.”

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani was one of the foreign dignitaries in attendance, paying his respects on behalf of the people of the Region.

 A statement released by the Presidency upon the death of Pope Francis saw Barzani esteem him as a man “who embodied peace, justice, and the bridging of divides among nations and faiths” and extend his “heartfelt condolences to the Christian world and to all of humanity.”

The late Pope visited the Kurdistan Region in 2021, meeting with Kurdish leaders and expressing his gratitude to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for their efforts to protect Christians from attacks by the Islamic State (ISIS).

During his historic visit to Erbil, he addressed a crowd of 10,000 at the Franso Hariri stadium, celebrating Christians in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq and urging interfaith tolerance.