By NICOLE WINFIELD and COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is being laid to rest Saturday in a ceremony reflecting his priorities as pope and wishes as pastor: Presidents and princes will attend his funeral in St. Peter’s Square, but prisoners and migrants will usher him into the basilica where he will be buried.

As many as 200,000 people are expected to attend the funeral, which Francis choreographed himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s rites and rituals last year. His aim was to emphasize the pope’s role as a mere priest and not “a powerful man of this world,” the Vatican said.

It was a reflection of Francis’ 12-year project to radically reform the papacy, to emphasize its pastors as servants, and to construct “a poor church for the poor.” It was a mission he articulated just days after his 2013 election and explained the name he chose as pope, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, “who had the heart of the poor of the world,” according to the official decree of the pope’s life that was placed in his coffin Friday night.

Nevertheless, the powerful will be in attendance Saturday. U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, the U.N. chief and European Union leaders are joining Prince William and the Spanish royal family in leading official delegations. Argentine President Javier Milei had the pride of place given Francis’ Argentine nationality, even if the two didn’t particularly get along and Francis alienated many Argentines by never returning home.

Francis is breaking with recent tradition and will buried in the St. Mary Major Basilica, near Rome’s main train station, where a simple underground tomb awaits him with just his name: Franciscus. As many as 300,000 people are expected to line the 2.5 mile motorcade route that will bring Francis’ casket from the Vatican through the center of Rome to the basilica after the funeral.

Francis, the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, died Easter Monday at age 88 after suffering a stroke while recovering at home from pneumonia.

With his funeral, preparations can now begin in earnest to host the centuries-old process of electing a new pope, a conclave that will likely begin in the first week of May. In the interim, the Vatican is being run by a handful of cardinals, key among them Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals who is presiding at the funeral and organizing the secret voting in the Sistine Chapel.

Crowds waited hours in line to pay their respects to Francis

Over three days this week, more than 250,000 people stood for hours in line to pay their final respects while Francis’ body lay in state in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican kept the doors open through the night to accommodate them.

“He was an excellent, humble person who changed many laws and always for the better,” said a pilgrim from his native Argentina, Augustin Angelicola, as he waited on line. “Now it is a sad thing for the whole world that all this has happened. We did not expect it, it had to happen but not so soon.”

But even with the expanded hours, it wasn’t enough. When the Vatican closed the doors to the general public at 7 p.m. on Friday, mourners were turned away in droves.

A special relationship with the basilica

Even before he became pope, Francis had a particular affection for St. Mary Major. It is home to a Byzantine-style icon of the Madonna, the Salus Popoli Romani, to which Francis was particularly devoted, such that he would go pray before it before and after each of his foreign trips as pope.

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He decided to have his tomb located in a niche next to the chapel housing the icon, with a reproduction of his simple silver pectoral cross over the marble tombstone.

The choice of the basilica is also symbolically significant given its ties to Francis’ Jesuit religious order. St. Ignatius Loyola, who founded the Jesuits, celebrated his first Mass in the basilica on Christmas Day in 1538.

The Vatican said 40 special guests would greet his casket on the piazza in front of the basilica, reflecting the marginalized groups Francis prioritized pope: homeless people and migrants, prisoners and transgender people.

“The poor have a privileged place in the heart of God,” the Vatican quoted Francis as saying in explaining the choice. The actual burial will be private, presided over by cardinals and a few close aides.

Italy is deploying more than 2,500 police and 1,500 soldiers to provide security, which also includes stationing a torpedo ship off the coast, and putting squads of fighter jets on standby, Italian media reported.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A team that’s struggled all year to close games, Minnesota found a way to do so when it needed it most Friday in Minneapolis.

Tied 103-103 in the final five minutes of a game in which it could never create separation, Anthony Edwards delivered two minutes of brilliant offense.

First, the guard hit a 3-pointer over a mild contest to put Minnesota back in front. A minute later, he drove to collapse the defense before kicking out to Naz Reid, who buried a triple of his own. Then with Minnesota up five with 2:30 to play, Edwards maneuvered his way through the lane for a layup.

Finally, with Minnesota up six and just more than a minute to play, the guard hit a long jumper to effectively put the game on ice. His mini surge powered the Wolves to a 116-104 victory at Target Center.

Minnesota leads the best-of-seven series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

While Edwards was generating buckets, the Lakers were doing nothing of the sort on the other end.

With Luka Doncic battling a stomach flu, LeBron James carried the load for much of the night for Los Angeles. He finished with 38 points but couldn’t put any pressure on the rim down the stretch. Minnesota repeatedly doubled Doncic and James in the closing minutes, leaving Rui Hachimura open.

Hachimura missed a pair of wide open 3-point attempts and turned the ball over.

Edwards finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Minnesota trailed by four at the half, but the Timberwolves had more juice than the Lakers in the third frame, delivering a series of second-effort plays that felt as though they’d turn the tide heavily in Minnesota’s favor and allow the Wolves to build a cushion.

But the Lakers seemingly had a response every time, usually in the form of a triple.

Minnesota led by two heading to the fourth and extended the lead to seven midway through the frame, only to have James bury a couple triples.

Julius Randle was largely excellent for Minnesota. He was aggressive offensively and pushed the pace whenever the opportunity presented itself. That was where Minnesota did much of its damage on a night where it again struggled in the half court for the final three quarters.

Minnesota made five of its first six shots to open the game using an egalitarian approach that benefited from the the attention the Lakers constantly pay to Edwards.

Jaden McDaniels was the primary attacker early. He was excellent throughout, finishing with a team-high 30 points while defending the ill Doncic.

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After waiting a few hours on Friday night to make their next pick in the 2025 NFL draft, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah decided the Vikings could wait a little bit longer.

Maryland wide receiver Tai Felton runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

In a small trade shortly before they were set to be on the clock, the Vikings flipped No. 97 (third round) and No. 187 (sixth round) to the Houston Texans in exchange for No. 102 (third round) and No. 142 (fifth round). The move helped upgrade some draft positioning, even if it didn’t necessarily add more draft capital.

When the Vikings finally got their turn, they turned in their card quickly and selected Maryland receiver Tai Felton at No. 102. There’s a lot to like about the selection as Felton, 22, should be able to contribute for the Vikings as soon as he steps on the field.

“Everybody was really excited about him,” senior vice president of player personnel Ryan Grigson said. “There’s a lot that this player can do and he has the mindset to come in and do whatever it takes to get on the field.”

Not only does he have the requisite size to play the position with his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame, Felton also the speed to take the top off the defense, evidenced by him running the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds.

Asked to describe his game, Felton pointed to his speed, as well as his ability to make plays when the ball is in his hands.

“I’m going to make defenders miss,” Felton said. “My intentions are always to go score.”

Though he has predominantly played outside throughout his career, Felton has shown the ability to work inside as he’s risen up the ranks. He will need to get stronger to have success at the next level.

The stats from last season speak for themselves as Felton led Maryland with 96 receptions for 1,124 yards and nine touchdowns.

It’s not hard to imagine Felton fitting in nicely in a room that features Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jalen Nailor, among others. He should also be able to help out in various spots on special teams.

It will be interesting to see how the Vikings approach the rest of the draft. They could simply stick and pick at No. 139 and No. 142. They could also try to add more picks by trading back once again.

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Pablo López returned on Friday night, and so, too, did the Twins’ offense.

Shut out in action during their rain-shortened loss a day earlier, the Twins erupted for a season-high 11 runs in support of López in their 11-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night at Target Field.

Leadoff hitter Edouard Julien started the Twins’ offense off on the right foot, drawing a walk to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Two more baserunners reached — Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch in the wrist area and later departed the game and Trevor Larnach walked — before Carlos Correa’s sacrifice fly brought Julien home and gave the Twins their first lead of the game.

It was one of four walks on the day for Julien, who scored three runs. As a team, the Twins took advantage of their free baserunners with five batters who walked — plus one who was hit by a pitch — coming around to score.

There were plenty of hits to speak of, too. Larnach, Byron Buxton and Mickey Gasper collected two apiece. For Gasper, his fourth-inning single was the first RBI of his career and came as part of a six-run inning for the Twins.

Julien’s bases-loaded walk forced in a run in the fourth and Buxton’s sacrifice fly brought home another before Gasper’s hit. Larnach then broke open the game with a three-run home run, his third in his past four games. Buxton also hit a home run in the win, along with a triple.

All the run support was more than enough for López, who was pitching in his first game since April 8, when he strained his right hamstring.

López (2-1) gave up two runs in his five-inning outing, including one in the second that tied the game up at the time. He allowed a second run in his last inning of work on an RBI single from Angels star Mike Trout. But otherwise, it was a strong return for the Twins’ top starter.

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