New Zealand's Ambassador to the Holy See Tara Morton with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon inside St Peter's Basilica. Photo: Supplied
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said it was a "great honour" to represent New Zealand at Pope Francis' funeral.
Thousands gathered in St Peter's Square on Saturday to mourn the former head of the Catholic Church, who died of a stroke and heart failure on Easter Monday.
"It was a very, very special occasion for a very, very special man," Luxon told Morning Report.
He was in the second or third row from the altar - sat alongside the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof, and Prince William.
"It was good to have a sort-of just a friendly chit-chat as you would do as per normal with any friends.
"But it wasn't formal bilaterals or deep content conversations, really, which was appropriate because we were there to recognise the passing of Pope Francis and to celebrate him."
Luxon was already in Europe at the time, after having travelled to the United Kingdom last Sunday to meet Starmer and King Charles, before going to Turkey to visit Istanbul and Gallipoli for Anzac Day.
On Tuesday, he announced New Zealand would extended the deployment of Defence Force personnel in the United Kingdom to train Ukrainian troops. However, he said New Zealand would not "be in the mix of securing that ceasefire per se".
"We are a small country a long way away with limited resources."
Luxon said there was a long way to go to secure a peace.
"Obviously, we're very open to supporting a peace, but we need to make that decision as a Cabinet."
He added that the expansion of New Zealand's involvement would be contingent on a ceasefire.
"We need to make sure there's a post peace, you know, there's peace secured first and foremost, and then we would consider - or be open to -considering what support we could offer around peacekeeping, but obviously, we're a long way away from that conversation."
New Zealand's only cardinal John Dew was another who represented the country at Pope Francis' funeral.
He said the Mass was "very beautifully done, very simply done", allowing the diversity of the church to be seen through prayer, language and music.
"The silence, too, at times, was amazing. There were thousands and thousands of people there, but just before we sung the litany of the saints, there was this absolute silence."
A photograph taken from St Peter Basilica shows a general view of late Pope Francis' coffin during the funeral in St Peter's Square. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli / AFP
Meanwhile, former Transport Minister Michael Wood also attended the funeral on Saturday as he happened to be in the Vatican at the time.
Wood told First Up he was in the town of Poggio Bustone when he heard that Pope Francis had died.
"I think what struck me is that people didn't just see Pope Francis as a, you know, distant ecclesiastical figure.
"He was a figure that the ordinary people here really revered and loved, and they felt a strong connection with him, that he was someone who stood for the ordinary people and who spoke up for the poor and the oppressed and the excluded."
While he said it was "just too difficult" to go into St Peter's Square, Wood said he was able to base himself on a nearby bridge, "and then watch the processions that came by with many, many other people who came out to view his final journey".
"I wouldn't say it was one where people felt that there was a deep tragedy that had happened here. It was quite a quite a warm feeling, actually, was the way that I would describe it. People were sad that this great man is no longer with us, but they felt very warmly towards him, and wanted to be there to share some memories and say a final goodbye."
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