NEW YORK (WABC) -- World dignitaries and Catholic faithful attended Pope Francis' funeral in St. Peter's Square on Saturday.
Despite the presence of presidents and princes, prisoners and migrants ushered him into the basilica where he will be buried, reflecting his priorities as pope, as hundreds of thousands have flocked to the funeral Mass.
U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, the U.N. chief and European Union leaders, as well as Prince William and the Spanish royal family, were in attendance.
Francis is breaking with recent tradition to be buried in the St. Mary Major Basilica in a simple underground tomb with just his name: Franciscus.
Argentinian-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the Catholic Church's 266th pope and the first ever from Latin America. He took the name Francis after the well-known St. Francis of Assisi, who ministered to the poor.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 after suffering a stroke, setting off mourning in the Catholic world and days of ritual at the Vatican.
President Trump and First Lady Melania will be going to Pope Francis' funeral in Rome, the president announced in a post on the Truth Social platform.
"We look forward to being there!," Trump added in the post.
Pope Francis' death certificate, released by the Vatican, said he died in his apartment at 7:35 a.m. from cerebral stroke, coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.
He was also affected by "previous episode of acute respiratory failure in bilateral multimicrobial pneumonia, multiple bronchiectasis, arterial hypertension and type II diabetes," according to the death certificate.
For six days in September 2015, Pope Francis made a historic visit to the United States, visiting some of the country's biggest cities and speaking to massive crowds of the faithful along the way.
In the span of a few days, the pope went to Washington to meet with the president and address a joint session of Congress; delivered a speech before the United Nations and visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York City; then spoke at the World Meeting of Families and celebrated Mass on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.
The pope's itinerary called for him to spend just under 40 hours in NYC, arriving Thursday evening at 5 p.m. and leaving Saturday morning just before 9 a.m. He was a part of six major events that spanned Manhattan -- from the Financial District up to East Harlem.
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Many of the parishioners who worship at Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn are from Latin America and there is a deep connection knowing the pope was from Argentina.
Father Robert Wojtek opened mass on Monday morning with words of remembrance.
Church staff put up a large photo of Pope Francis to honor him and the legacy he leaves behind. For many Catholics, the pope's death is personal.
Eyewitness News spoke with several people, including a man named William Hernandez who broke down as soon as he was asked for his reaction.
Hernandez is from Puerto Rico and remembers the pride he felt when Pope Francis was elected as the first pope from Latin America.
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