Millions of people across the globe will be watching the funeral of Pope Francis I today, with world leaders from all corners of the planet attending as the religious figure is laid to rest. But what will happen to the Pope’s body after the funeral takes place?
Pope Francis, who died aged 88 on Easter Monday, has been lying in state in a simple wooden coffin, with the public being allowed to pay their respects until last night (Friday, April 25) at 7pm. At 8pm that evening, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the senior Vatican official tasked with making arrangements for the Pope’s funeral, presided over the rite of the sealing of the coffin.
The funeral started today at 10am local time and will be held mostly in St Peter’s Square. It’s expected to last around two hours and is predominantly in Latin.
Francis, in accordance with his late wishes, will be buried at the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome. This breaks with the tradition of papal burials in St Peter’s Basilica.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over his liturgy. The College of Cardinals is the group that will soon appoint a new Pope.
So what will happen to his coffin? Francis’s coffin will be taken back into the basilica after the final commendation and valediction. When the funeral ends, it will be taken to the Basilica of St Mary Major for burial.
In his testament, which was released on Monday, the Pope expressed his wish to be buried outside the Vatican, in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major, and “without particular decoration.”
He also said he wanted to be in a simple underground tomb with only “Franciscus” written on it. Francis will be the first Pope to be buried away from the Vatican in over a century.
His wooden coffin will be entombed in a small niche that has been used to store candlestick holders.
Francis wanted the funeral rites to be appropriate for “a shepherd and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful man of this world“.
The guest list for Francis is longer than it was for Pope Benedict XVI, which was a smaller, simpler service. Following Francis’s funeral, there will be nine days of mourning, lasting until May 4.
Cardinal Farrell will manage the Holy See’s financial and administrative affairs until a new Pope takes over. A secret meeting of cardinals, better known as the conclave, usually starts 15 days after a Pope’s death.
Cardinals who were aged 80 or under on the day of the last Pope’s death have a vote. They will convene in the Sistine Chapel, where up to four votes can be made each day.
When a new Pope accepts his election, he usually appears soon after on the front balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, which looks out onto the famous square.
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