He looked smaller. That’s the first thing people noticed when the cameras caught former President Joe Biden stepping into the sunlight of St. Peter’s Square on April 26, 2025. It was a crisp morning in Vatican City, the kind of day that feels too bright for a burial.
By the time Joe Biden at Pope Francis funeral became the top-trending search term across the globe, the world was already processing the end of an era. Pope Francis had passed away just five days earlier, on Easter Monday, at the age of 88. For Biden, this wasn't just a state function. It was personal.
Honestly, the optics were a bit jarring for some. If you were watching the live feed, you might have done a double-take. There was Donald Trump, the sitting president, front and center. And there was Joe Biden, the man who had occupied that same office just months prior, being led to a seat several rows back.
It wasn't a snub, though the internet tried its hardest to make it one. It was just the rigid, centuries-old Vatican protocol. In the world of the Holy See, current heads of state get the front row. Former ones? They’re essentially private citizens with a really good security detail.
Why the Biden-Francis Bond Actually Mattered
To understand why Biden looked so genuinely shaken, you have to look past the politics. They were two men who "got" each other. Biden, the second Catholic president in American history, and Francis, the first Pope from the Americas.
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They shared a specific kind of grief. When Biden’s son, Beau, passed away in 2015, Francis was one of the people who reached out. He didn't just send a formal card; he actually spoke with the family. Biden often mentioned that the Pope’s words on "mercy" and "suffering" were what kept him grounded during his darkest years.
So, when Biden arrived for the funeral of Pope Francis, he wasn't there to represent the United States Government—Donald Trump was already doing that. Biden was there because he felt he owed it to a friend.
The Details No One Saw on TV
The ceremony itself was surprisingly simple. Following the wishes Francis laid out in his 2024 update to the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, there was no triple casket. No gold-leafed extravagance. Just a plain cypress wood box sitting on the stones of the square.
- The Seating: Biden sat with Dr. Jill Biden. They were tucked into the section for "Other Dignitaries."
- The Interaction: There was a brief, almost invisible moment where Biden and Trump were within twenty feet of each other. They didn't speak.
- The Physicality: At 82, Biden moved slowly. He was seen leaning on a priest and his wife as he navigated the uneven cobblestones of the Vatican.
It was a stark reminder of the passage of time. Not just for the Church, but for the American political guard.
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The Viral Seating "Controversy"
Social media, especially X (formerly Twitter), went into a total meltdown over where Biden was sitting. People called it "disrespectful" or claimed he was being "pushed to the back."
But let’s be real: the Vatican doesn't do "back-row slights" for the sake of it. Everything is calculated. Since Biden was no longer a sitting head of state, protocol dictated he be seated with former leaders and special guests. It’s the same reason you’ll see former Prime Ministers or Presidents at these events sitting behind people they used to outrank.
Basically, the Vatican is the only place on earth where a 2,000-year-old rulebook beats a modern ego every single time.
What Most People Got Wrong
A lot of news outlets focused on the "rivalry" between the two U.S. presidents in attendance. But the real story was the sheer scale of the crowd. Nearly 250,000 people packed into the area.
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Biden’s presence was actually a bit of a logistics nightmare for the Vatican police. Usually, an ex-president travels with a smaller footprint, but because of the heightened security in Rome that week, his arrival was as scrutinized as any king or queen.
Joe Biden at Pope Francis Funeral: The Aftermath
After the service, Biden didn't hang around for the high-level diplomatic luncheons. He kept it low-key. He later wrote an op-ed for USA Today where he said the world felt "colder" without Francis.
He mentioned that Francis was the "People’s Pope," a guy who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. That was the legacy Biden wanted to highlight—the idea that power is useless if you don't use it to help the person at the very bottom.
What we can learn from this moment:
- Protocol is King: In international diplomacy, your current title is your only currency.
- Personal Legacy Outlasts Office: Biden’s relationship with the Vatican was built on 40 years of visits, not just his four years in the White House.
- The Church is Changing: The simplicity of the funeral was a direct message from Francis to his successor, Leo XIV, that the era of the "Imperial Pope" is over.
If you’re following the early days of the new Papacy or want to understand how the U.S.-Vatican relationship is shifting under the current administration, the best place to start is looking at the official Vatican News archives. They've released the full transcript of the funeral homily delivered by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, which touches on the specific "global brotherhood" Francis was trying to build—a mission Biden clearly felt a part of.
Take a look at the official guest list released by the Holy See Press Office to see just how deep the diplomatic ties went that day. It's a fascinating map of who actually holds influence in the 2026 landscape.