JOHN YANG: 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.

MALCOLM BRABANT (voice-over): Beneath an azure Roman skin, a quarter of a million people crammed 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 U.S. 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 respects at the coffin, President Trump sat down with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy for the first time since their rancorous confrontation in the Oval Office two months ago.

Trump reportedly pressured Zelenskyy 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 X social media platform, Zelenskyy 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 break out.

But in a post on his Truth Social network, President Trump launched a broadside against Russia's Vladimir Putin.

He said there was no reason to shoot missiles into civilian areas.

It makes me think, he said, that maybe Putin doesn't want to stop the war and is just tapping me along.

When Trump emerged into St. Peter's Square, he was met with silence.

The contrast with Zelenskyy's appearance could not have been greater.

Warm applause greeted the Ukrainian president as he took his seat.

And then the grand ceremony began in earnest with the coffin carried from the basilica into the square.

The congregation was addressed by 91-year-old Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

CARDINAL GIOVANNI BATTISTA RE, Dean of the College of Cardinals (through translator): In this majestic St. Peter Square where Pope Francis celebrated the Eucharist so many times and presided over great gatherings over the past 12 years, we are gathered with sad hearts in prayer around his mortal remains.

MALCOLM BRABANT (voice-over): With talks about peace in Ukraine dominating the diplomatic agenda, the cardinal reminded the throng of Francis despair at the futility of war.

GIOVANNI BATTISTA RE (through translator): Faced with the raging wars of recent years, with their inhuman horrors and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis incessantly raised his voice imploring peace.

War, he said, is only the death of people and the destruction of homes, hospitals and schools.

MALCOLM BRABANT (voice-over): Then the cardinal named what some commentators interpreted as a barbed missive at President Trump and his war on the Mexican border.

GIOVANNI BATTISTA RE (through translator): War always leaves the world worse than it was before.

It is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone.

Build bridges, not walls was an exhortation he repeated many times.

MALCOLM BRABANT (voice-over): In conclusion, Cardinal Battista Re appealed to Pope Francis in the afterlife.

GIOVANNI BATTISTA RE (through translator): Pope Francis used to conclude his speeches and also his private meetings by saying, do not forget to pray for me now.

Dear Pope Francis, we ask you to pray for us, and we ask you from heaven to bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world.

MALCOLM BRABANT (voice-over): After communion and an invocation to the saints and martyrs, the funeral service came to an end.

The coffin was placed on a modified popemobile and driven through the streets for Francis final earthly journey.

The route took the coffin past some of Rome's most famous landmarks, including the Colosseum and tens of thousands of people who stood several rows deep to say farewell.

Francis is the first pope in more than a century to be laid to rest outside the Vatican.

Thousands clustered around the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore to witness the climax of an emotional day.

Consistent with his commitment to the poor and dispossessed, Francis invited refugees, prisoners, transsexuals and others in need to be his ultimate guard of honor.

Before the Vatican's master of ceremonies, Cardinal Kevin Farrell blessed the tomb and placed a seal on the coffin.

A Swiss guard gave a final salute, and Franciscus, as he was known in Latin, was left at peace among his people and with his God.

For PBS News Weekend, I'm Malcolm Brabant in Rome.