WASHINGTON — Justice Antonin Scalia used to say he was better at responding to criticism than to praise. But praise was the order of the day at a funeral Mass for him Saturday as the nation’s capital paused to mourn the passing of a jurist who left an indelible mark on the laws of his country.

Justices, judges, congressional leaders, Cabinet secretaries, and the vice president, gathered at the nation’s largest Roman Catholic church to pay tribute to Scalia.

The longest-serving member of the current Supreme Court, he died at age 79 last weekend at a Texas ranch after nearly 30 years on the bench.

The justice’s body was delivered on a chilly but brightening morning to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in a coffin draped with an American flag.

The homily was delivered by one of his sons, the Rev. Paul D. Scalia, in a service that focused on the man as much as his life’s work. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, hailed an “extraordinary man’’ and offered the family consolations.

Four of Scalia’s sons served as pallbearers. A private burial followed the service.

The funeral was the first for a sitting member of the court since Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died in 2005 and only the second since 1954.

Scalia’s body lay in repose Friday in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court, where President Obama and the eight justices paid their respects along with the justice’s widow, Maureen, and their nine children.

Obama did not attend the funeral, leaving it to Vice President Joe Biden to represent the administration. The president and Michelle Obama had met privately with some members of Scalia’s family Friday.