They came for the canonization of a millennial saint. They stayed for Pope Francis' funeral

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Thousands of young people from around the world had come to Rome expecting to rejoice this weekend in the canonization of the first millennial saint during the Vatican’s Holy Year. They ended up bidding farewell to Pope Francis instead, with their exuberance giving an uplifting tone to Saturday's otherwise somber funeral.

“He always said you have to be joyful about life, you have to live life in a similar way,” said Marco Falchi, who traveled from his home near Perugia with his wife and 11-year-old son. He and his wife credit Francis with reviving their spirituality, and they named their son, Francesco, after him.

The family is also devoted to the cause of sainthood for Carlo Acutis, a young Italian who died in 2006 from leukemia and inspired faith in many young Catholics. They planned their trip to Rome around that.

The canonization of Acutis had been scheduled for Sunday during the first-ever Jubilee of Adolescents, dedicated to teens. It was suspended after Francis’ death on Monday.

Falchi was struck by the lack of deep mourning at the funeral for the pope, and he is convinced Francis would have been pleased. “Especially since this was the jubilee for adolescents, he certainly didn’t want a day of mourning but he wanted a day of joy,” he said.

There was a clear blue sky over St. Peter’s Square. Some people camped out the night before to get a good spot. Many stood respectfully, their hands folded, as they followed the Mass on large screens. Radio broadcasts in multiple languages added to the hum of humanity. They applauded when Francis’ simple wooden coffin was moved outdoors.

Tens of thousands of Catholic faithful had planned their trips before the pope's death.

“I bought my ticket for Carlo,” said Reyes Arribas, a 23-year-old from Valencia, Spain. “And then suddenly Pope Francis died, so I came to the funeral.”

She confessed that while she admired Francis, she felt a closer affinity to his predecessors, St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Her feelings for Acutis, however, are very strong. She excitedly praised him as “the first saint of young people” because he was immersed in the technological world of today.

Even those who were disappointed by the suspended canonization were gratified that they could celebrate Francis, loved by many for his humility and concern for the poor.

“I feel like I grew up with Pope Francis,” said Jessica Naranjo, a 27-year-old from Austin, Texas. “I felt very connected with him in the way he advocated for social justice and the environment. This was a big loss for me.”

“I”m disappointed that I’m here celebrating the pope’s life instead of celebrating with the pope," she said.

Ana Kalen, a 22-year-old medical student, traveled to Rome for the Acutis canonization with a group from Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“The plans have changed, but we are still so glad to be here for this historical moment,” Kalen said, a Bosnian flag draped over her shoulders. “We are sad about each death. But we do believe that Pope Francis is in a better place.”

After St. John Paul II died in 2005, the mood was different. The faithful made pilgrimages from his Polish homeland and elsewhere to mourn a towering figure of the 20th century in a spirit of deep sadness and loss.

Francis had a different style. During his 12-year papacy, he urged people to maintain a sense of humor, and that spirit seemed to guide many participants Saturday.

Groups of young people filled St. Peter’s Square before the funeral Mass. One from a parish in Cassano Magnago in the northern Italian province of Varese danced in circle and sang religious songs.

The pope’s death during Easter season filled them with a sense of peace, one teenager said.

“It’s a good sign,” said 16-year-old Matteo Cozzi. “The death of a pope at Easter is a sign of hope.”

A faithful reacts during the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Faithful listen to mass during the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Faithful react during the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Faithful pray during the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Pallbearers carry the coffin during the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A view of the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A faithful waves a flag with Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, at the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)