PARIS, France (AFP) — As the funeral of Pope Francis is held today in Rome, we look at some of the funerals of other public figures whose death plunged the masses into mourning since Pope John Paul II.

2005: Pope John Paul II

On April 8, 2005 the funeral of Pope John Paul II brought more than a million worshippers to St Peter’s Square and surrounding streets in Rome.

Thousands interrupted the homily of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was later elected Pope Benedict XVI, by chanting “Santo Subito!” (Saint now!), demanding that John Paul II should immediately be canonised.

Gatherings took place around the world, notably at Krakow in John Paul’s homeland Poland, where some 800,000 people prayed and watched the solemn funeral on giant screens.

2013: Hugo Chavez

In Caracas at least two million people, according to the Venezuelan Government, marked the passing of the firebrand leftist President Hugo Chavez in March 2013.

In the two days before a rousing State funeral attended by around 30 heads of State and government and Hollywood star Sean Penn, countless Venezuelans had filed past his remains, crying, making the sign of the cross, and giving military salutes.

2013: Nelson Mandela

During a 10-day period of national mourning and ceremonies for South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, around 100 world leaders and celebrities attended a State funeral in a Soweto stadium.

Up to 100,000 people had queued to view the body of the country’s first black president, lying in an open casket at government buildings in Pretoria for three days.

He was buried on December 15, 2013, beside his children at the modest family compound in his childhood village of Qunu, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, in the presence of a restricted number of people.

2020: Diego Maradona

Argentina’s football legend Diego Maradona was buried on November 26, 2020 on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, after a chaotic public wake.

The 1986 World Cup winner was laid to rest after a ceremony attended by family and close friends in the Bella Vista cemetery.

After some of the people queuing outside the presidential palace to file past Maradona’s coffin took over a courtyard inside, officials had to move the coffin to another room.

On the day of the funeral thousands of fans crowded onto roadsides and highway bridges as the cortège sped towards the cemetery.

In Naples, Italy, where Maradona played, fans held an all-day wake. Players also took to the pitch for a match wearing his number 10 shirt.

2022: Queen Elizabeth II

Tens of thousands of Britons and overseas tourists queued for up to 25 hours to file past Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin as it lay in state in Edinburgh and London.

Even more packed the streets of London and the route west to Windsor Castle for the State funeral on September 19 2022.

The pomp-filled funeral and outpouring of public grief drew comparisons with that of Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Her September 6, 1997 funeral in London drew almost a million people.