Pope Francis newest: Tens of 1000’s of mourners view Pontiff’s open casket at St Peter’s Basilica
Pope Francis’s coffin has arrived at St Peter’s Basilica, where it will lie in state for public viewings for the next three days.
Thousands queued into the evening on Wednesday to pay their respects ahead of Saturday’s funeral mass.
World leaders, cardinals and crowds of pilgrims are expected to flock to the Vatican for Pope Francis’ funeral, which will be held at 10am on Saturday in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced.
The Prince of Wales will join the likes of US president Donald Trump, Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky to pay their respects to the pontiff, who died aged 88 on Monday.
He is said to have shown the first signs of sudden illness two hours before passing, according to the Vatican news outlet, which reported he made a gesture of farewell with his hand to his nurse before falling into a coma.
His death came after he was hospitalised with double pneumonia for several weeks in February, before he returned to the Vatican in mid-March to recover.
How the nine days of novemdiales will play out
The first day of novemdiales will be marked by Pope Francis’ funeral mass in St Peter’s Square on Saturday.
On Sunday, the mass at 10.30 will be presided over by cardinal Pietro Parolin, which will include employees and faithful of the Vatican.
On 28 April, the mass at 5pm will be presided over by cardinal Baldassare Reina and include the church of Rome.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti will preside over the mass at St Peter’s Basilica at 5pm.
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri will preside over the mass on 30 April at 5pm, with the group being the Papal Chapel. Only cardinals will be allowed to concelebrate this mass, according to Vatican News.
On 1 May at 5pm, cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell will preside the mass at St Peter’s.
The day seven mass at 5pm will be presided over by cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, with the group being the Eastern Churches.
Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime will preside over the Day 8 mass at 5pm.
On the final day, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti will preside at the mass with the Papal Chapel group at St Peter’s. The concelebrations will be limited to the cardinals.
What is novemdiali?
A huge gathering of the Catholic faithful will come together to grieve the loss of Pope Francis in the coming days, followed by the secretive and potentially lengthy process of cardinals choosing a new pontiff.
The Church is currently in “sede vacante”, or “the vacant See”. This happened at the moment of the Pope’s death.
Following the funeral, the “novemdiali” takes place – nine days of official mourning. The funeral marks the first day of this period, with the final day on 4 May.
Each day after the funeral, a mass will be held at St Peter’s Basilica, which will be presided over by a different cardinal.
Only Cardinals will be allowed to concelebrate the masses dedicated to the Papal Chapel on 30 April and 4 May, according to reports.
Cardinals meet in private to finalise preperations for funeral
The cardinals yesterday met in private to finalise the preparations for Saturday’s funeral and plan the conclave to elect Francis’ successor.
Pope Francis chose St Mary Major as his resting place, about 4 km from the Vatican, which marks a break from tradition, as most popes were buried in Vatican grounds.
The basilica was important to the Pope because it was his favourite place to pray. He prayed there before and after every international trip.
The funeral has been set for Saturday at 10am (local time) in St Peter’s Square. It will be attended by world leaders, including US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Francis’ death and funeral will usher in a carefully orchestrated period of transition in the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church, with cardinals gathering over the coming days before entering a conclave, the secretive ritual voting in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope.
Catholic faithful pay their final respects
Thousands of people filed through St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday to pay their final respects to Pope Francis at the start of three days of public viewing ahead of his funeral.
Throngs of the faithful made their way to the 16th-century basilica’s main altar, where Francis’ open wooden casket was perched, as Swiss Guards stood at attention.
Over the coming days, tens of thousands of people are expected to pass through, and the Vatican said it may make the viewing hours even longer due to high turnout. In the first 8.5 hours, 19,430 people paid their respects to the pope.
Francis was laid out in red robes, clasping a rosary and wearing a bishop’s mitre, the traditional pointed headdress. Mourners waited hours to reach the casket, which was behind a cordon. Some held their phones aloft as they neared to snap photos in what has become a modern ritual.”It gave me chills,” said Ivenes Bianco, as she left.
She was in Rome from the southern city of Brindisi for medical care, and came to pay her respects. “He was important to me because he encouraged co-existence. He brought many people together.
“Francis’ casket wasn’t put on an elevated bier – as was the case with past popes – but placed on a ramp, facing the pews.
It was in keeping with his wishes for the rituals surrounding a papal funeral to be simplified to reflect his belief that the pope’s role is that of simple pastor, not world leader.
In pics: Thousands of pilgrims pay respects to Pope Francis
Where will Pope Francis be buried?
Pope Francis chose St Mary Major as his resting place, about 4 km from the Vatican.
It marks a break from tradition as most popes were buried in Vatican grounds – the last pope not to be was in 1903.
The basilica was important to the Pope because it was his favourite place to pray. He prayed there before and after every international trip.
“I’ve always had a great devotion to St Mary Major, even before I became pope,” he wrote in his 2024 book El Sucesor.
Source: independent.co.uk
