VATICAN CITY -- With presidents and kings looking on, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square sang, applauded and chanted for the church to declare John Paul II a saint as the pope was laid to rest Friday in an unprecedented gathering of the mighty and the meek.
John Paul, who spread his message of peace to all corners of the planet, was buried among his predecessors back to the apostle Peter while tens of millions followed the funeral rites in their homes, in overflowing churches and on giant television screens set up in fields, sports stadiums and town squares.
In St. Peter's Square, at the center of it all, the book of the Gospels lay on a simple cypress coffin, adorned with a cross and an ''M'' for the Virgin Mary. A brisk wind lifted the book's pages and rippled the red vestments of cardinals, along with the turbans, fezzes and yarmulkes worn by leaders of other faiths touched by the global pope.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a confidant of the pope and a possible successor, delivered a homily that traced John Paul's path from a factory worker in Nazi-occupied Poland to the leader of the world's one billion Catholics.
''Our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profound gratitude,'' Ratzinger said. Usually unflappable, the German-born cardinal choked with emotion. ''Santo! Santo!'' the crowd responded, waving banners reading ''Santo Subito'' -- ''Immediate Sainthood.''
''I'm here not only to pray for him, but also to pray to him, because I believe he's a saint,'' said
The dignitaries from 138 countries reflected the extraordinary mix of faiths and cultures that John Paul courted during his 26-year papacy: Orthodox bishops in long black robes, Jews in yarmulkes, Arabs in checkered head scarves, Central Asians in lambskin caps and Western political leaders in dark suits.
Bells tolled as the delegations took their places on red-cushioned wooden seats. President Bush, accompanied by his predecessors Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, was the first American president to attend a papal funeral.
The 2 1/2-hour Mass began with the Vatican's Sistine Choir singing the Gregorian chant, ''Grant Him Eternal Rest, O Lord.'' Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, said John Paul was a ''priest to the last'' who offered his life for God and his flock, ''especially amid the sufferings of his final months.'' He was interrupted by applause at least 10 times.
The Mass ended with cardinals, dignitaries and pilgrims standing and singing: ''May the angels accompany you into heaven, may the martyrs welcome you when you arrive, and lead you to Holy Jerusalem.''
Twelve white-gloved pallbearers carried the coffin back into St. Peter's Basilica, where it was nested inside a second casket of zinc and a third of walnut.
In a spontaneous gesture of respect, cardinals standing along the aisles removed their ''zucchettos,'' or skull caps as the coffin went by, according to Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. ''It was the last tribute to the Holy Father,'' he said.
In a grotto beneath the basilica, the casket was lowered into the ground in a plot inside a small chapel, between the tombs of two women: Queen Christina of Sweden and Queen Carlotta of Cyprus, said a senior Vatican official who attended the ceremony.
''Lord, grant him eternal rest, and may perpetual light shine upon him,'' said Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, who performed the private service.
During the ceremony, at least 300,000 people who camped out overnight on chilly streets filled St. Peter's Square and spilled out onto the Via della Conciliazione. Millions more watched on giant video screens set up across Rome, from university campuses to the Circus Maximus, where ancient Romans held chariot races centuries before Christianity was born.
Despite the crowd's size Friday, there were few disturbances, and strangers shared food, water and umbrellas for shade in an outpouring of kindness that honored John Paul's message. When pilgrims broke out into song, others joined the hymns in different languages.
''We are the generation of John Paul II,'' said Mara Poole, a 27-year-old housewife from St. Paul, Minn., tears streaming down her face.
''He was all people's father, especially for us, the Poles,'' said Dominika Bolechowska, 29, a teacher from the pope's favorite mountain town of Zakopane, who traveled 28 hours by bus and spent a night on the streets with her 2-year-old son.
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