Pope Francis’ viewing draws 250K mourners; Numbers fall short of St. John Paul II’s funeral by: Dina Bair, Ashlyn Wright Posted: Apr 25, 2025 / 06:23 PM CDT Updated: Apr 25, 2025 / 06:25 PM CDT ...

There were plenty of tears shed on April 8, 2005, the day Pope St. John Paul II was laid to rest. Though I was only seven, I vividly remember my mother crying as we watched the funeral.

A message by Pope John Paul II for Divine Mercy Sunday, written prior to his death, was read April 2, 2005 — the day of his death — at the end of the first funeral Mass celebrated for the Pontiff.

John Paul II led more than a billion Catholics for 27 years and revolutionized how the church's followers relate to the pope. He traveled to more than 125 countries, logging 680,000 miles of travel.

In 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger delivered a homiletic masterpiece at John Paul’s funeral, built around the final words of Jesus to Peter: Follow me!