The final funeral rite of Pope Francis is scheduled to start at 10:00 in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica on Saturday.
The head of the Catholic Church died of a stroke last Monday, aged 88, less than 24 hours after leading an Easter address. He had been in poor health after recently battling double pneumonia.
Patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests from across the globe will take part. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, will lead the service.
Cardinal Battista Re will deliver the final commendation and valediction – a concluding prayer where the Pope will be formally entrusted to God – and the pontiff’s body will be moved to St Mary Major for the burial.
Huge crowds are anticipated on Saturday, with as many as 250,000 people expected to attend the funeral.
Many heads of state and royals have confirmed their attendance, including Prince William, US President Donald Trump, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Also, other political figures who have announced their attendance include; Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Polish president Andrzej Duda, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, Francis’s home country, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Historically, popes are buried in triple coffins in marble tombs inside St Peter’s Basilica at the heart of the Vatican however, Pope Francis requested that he instead be buried at Rome’s Basilica of St Mary Major.
He will become the first pope in more than 100 years to be laid to rest outside the Vatican.
In his final testament, Pope Francis also asked to be buried “in the earth, simple, without particular decoration” and with the inscription only of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.
His body was moved into the Santa Marta chapel on Monday evening, and his apartment formally sealed, the Vatican said. —BBC
