Pope Francis’ Funeral Set For Saturday: What Happens Next?
Pope Francis’ funeral will be held this Saturday in a ceremony to be held in St. Peter’s Square loaded with pomp and pageantry, the Vatican said.
The funeral Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals.
The decision was announced Tuesday after cardinals met at the Vatican to plan the events of the coming days, which also includes the conclave to elect his successor and to make other decisions about the running of the Catholic Church.
World leaders — many of whom lauded Francis for what he did during his pontificate — said they plan to attend, including President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump.
As Catholics await to bid the pope a final farewell, the Vatican also released the first photos of Francis’ body, showing him in a wooden casket wearing red vestments and his bishop’s miter in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta where he lived and died.
Pope Francis, who died on Monday at age 88, will lie in state starting on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Basilica, where thousands are expected to arrive to pay their respects to the first Latin American pontiff.
After lying in state, Saturday’s funeral will take place at 10 a.m. Rome time (4 a.m. ET) before thousands of pilgrims.
Pope’s will and burial site
In his final will, Francis said he wanted to be buried at St. Mary Major Basilica, which is home to the Salus Populi Romani icon of Mary. It is also the burial site of seven other popes.
Before and after every foreign trip, the pope made it a ritual to go to the basilica to pray before the Byzantine-style painting that features an image of Mary in a blue robe holding the baby Jesus.
The Argentine-born pope also requested a tomb with only the inscription “Franciscus” — Francis in Latin — and specified that it “must be in the earth; simple, without particular decoration.”
Francis stopped by the basilica on his way home from the Gemelli hospital on March 23, following his 38-day stay for double pneumonia, to deliver flowers to be placed before the icon. He returned on April 12 for a final time.
Within hours of the announcement of Francis’ death, cardinals from around the world began heading to the Vatican. They are also in Rome to prepare for the conclave, the process of choosing a new pope that takes place in the Sistine Chapel behind closed doors.
Cardinals under the age of 80 — 135 men in total — can vote to decide who will shape the future of the church and lead its 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.
A date for the start of the conclave has yet to be set, but tradition calls for it to start sometime between May 5 and 10 following a mourning period.
A doubtful final appearance
The pope was last seen on Easter Sunday, where he made a surprise appearance. Beforehand, he had met briefly with Vice President J.D. Vance.
Pope Francis, however, had doubts about making the popemobile ride through St. Peter’s Square, the first among the crowd since surviving near-fatal pneumonia, Vatican News reported.
“Do you think I can manage it?’’ Pope Francis asked Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal health care assistant.
Strappetti said yes and Francis, the report said, was driven through the crowd of 50,000, where he greeted them and offered a blessing.
Afterward, Francis told Strappetti: “Thank you for bringing me back to the square.”
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged.