Pope Francis’ Funeral To Be Held in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday
Pope Francis in the Saint Martha Chapel, April 22, 2025. X/ @Tg1Rai
April 22, 2025 Hour: 5:18 am
After the funeral, the casket will be taken to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to be buried.
On Tuesday, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis’ casket will be transferred to the Vatican Basilica on Wednesday, and his funeral will be held in St. Peter’s Square at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.
RELATED:
A Very Heterogeneous Conclave To Elect Pope Francis’ Successor
The ceremony, which is expected to be attended by heads of State from around the world, will be officiated by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re. After the funeral, the casket will be taken to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to be buried, according to Pope Francis’ wishes.
On Wednesday, following a moment of prayer presided over by the Camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, the “transfer” of the body will begin. The procession will pass through Saint Martha’s Square and the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs and, from the Arch of the Bells, will head into St. Peter’s Square and enter the Vatican Basilica through the central door.
Then, at the Altar of the Confession, beneath the baldachin, the Camerlengo Cardinal will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, at the end of which the faithful will be able to begin their visit.
It has not yet been determined how long Francis’ body will lie in state. The Pope made several changes to the rules regarding papal funerals, as outlined in the new edition of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis.
The body has been placed in a single wooden coffin with a zinc lining and will be displayed directly in the open casket, but not on a catafalque, as had previously been the custom. The papal staff will also not be placed with the body during the public display.
Finally, the tradition of burying popes in three coffins—“one of cypress, a second of lead, and a third of oak or other wood”—has been eliminated.
After the funeral, the casket will be taken immediately to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, as Pope Francis specified for his burial.
In his will, he stated: “I request that my tomb be prepared in the niche of the side nave between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the aforementioned Papal Basilica.”
The tomb, wrote the Argentine Pope, “must be in the ground; simple, without particular decoration, and with the sole inscription: Franciscus,” as stated in the will published after his death at the age of 88.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
