Today we bury his remains in the earth as a seed of immortality

"Today we bury his remains in the earth as a seed of immortality -- our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profound gratitude," the main celebrant at the Mass, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, said in his funeral sermon.

German-born Ratzinger, Dean of the College of Cardinals and seen as a possible successor to the pope, read a homily that traced the pontiff's life from his days as a factory worker in Nazi-occupied Poland to the last days of his life as the head of the world's 1 billion Catholics.

He said John Paul was a "priest to the last" and said he had offered his life for God and his flock "especially amid the sufferings of his final months."

"We can be sure that our beloved pope is standing today at the window of the Father's house, that he sees us and blesses us," he added, pointing to the window where John Paul made his last public appearance.

Ratzinger was interrupted towards the end of the Mass by several minutes of cheers, applause and shouts of "Giovanni Paolo Santo" or "Saint John Paul," from the crowd.

"O God ... grant your servant and our Pope John Paul, who led your Church with the love of Christ ... the reward promised in the Gospel," Ratzinger said.

Source.