The funeral of Pope Francis will be simpler than those of previous popes, following instructions he set out himself. But as a head of state and leader of more than a billion Catholics worldwide, it will still be a spectacle of ceremony and tradition.

In today’s newsletter, the ritualistic sights and scenes at Pope Francis’s funeral. Plus: I watched the funeral for Pope Francis from atop the braccio, or “arm,” extending up and outward to the left of St.

Pope Francis' funeral brought world leaders, monarchs, and hundreds of thousands of people to Rome on Saturday to bid him farewell in a ceremony of breathtaking spectacle that offered age-old Catholic funeral rites and touching moments of personal grief.