Good evening, I'm John Yang. Pope Francis was laid to rest today after a solemn requiem mass outside St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Our coverage begins with special correspondent Malcolm Brabant in Rome.

Beneath an Azeo-Roman sky, a quarter of a million people crowned into St. Peter's Square

to glorify the former Argentinian nightclub bouncer, who history will remember as a Pope of Peace.

They came to participate in the grandest of funeral services with rituals dating back centuries.

They saw kings and princes and presidents take their places beneath a fierce April sun,

including William, the heir to the British throne.

The former US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill slipped into the less hallowed seats

opposite the scarlet phalanx of Cardinals, who in May will be sequestered to choose the next Pope.

Francis was universally acclaimed as an extraordinary pontiff,

and in keeping with his peace-loving spirit behind the scenes, there was a significant attempt

to broker a truce between Ukraine and its Russian invaders.

Before paying his respect to the coffin, President Trump sat down with Ukraine's President

Zelensky for the first time since their rancorous confrontation in the Oval Office

two months ago. Trump reportedly pressured Zelensky to accept a plan in which Ukraine

will formally surrender territory occupied by Russia, including the Crimean Peninsula, as well as granting

the United States an enormous stake in Ukraine's mineral

wealth. As far as the White House is concerned, this is the only feasible deal. On the ex-social

media platform, Zelensky described the meeting as very symbolic and potentially historic.

Thanking Trump, he said, he was hoping for results on everything covered in their discussions,

protecting the lives of Ukrainians, a full and unconditional ceasefire,

and a reliable and lasting peace that would prevent another war from breaking out.

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