The Pope's funeral will take place on Saturday morning, the Vatican announces

ITV News

22-04-2025

The late Pope's body was moved into a coffin in his private chapel on Monday evening.
The Vatican has announced Pope Francis' funeral will take place at on Saturday, with a mass in St. Peter's Square.
The announcement was made as cardinals met at the Vatican on Tuesday, their first gathering since Francis' death.
The cardinals also announced that the public viewing of the pope's body in St. Peter's Basilica will begin on Wednesday, after his casket is taken by procession from the Vatican hotel where he lived.
It comes as the Vatican released the first images of the late Pope Francis since announcing his death on Monday.
The body has been laid in state in his private chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel.
The photos showed him in a wooden casket, dressed in red vestments and his bishop's miter, with the Vatican secretary of state Pietro Parolin, a frontrunner to succeed him, praying over his body.
In changes made by Francis last year, his body was not placed in three wooden coffins, as it had been for previous popes. Rather, Francis was placed in a simplified wooden coffin with a zinc coffin inside.
Once moved to St. Peter's Basilica, his coffin will not be put on an elevated bier, but will be placed facing the pews, with the Pasqual candle nearby.
The Vatican confirmed the "rite of the certification" of the Pope's death and his placement in the coffin took place on Monday evening.In a ceremony that lasted just under an hour, a declaration of death was read aloud and the act was validated by Cardinal Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.
The doors of the papal apartment where Pope Francis lived were also sealed with ribbon and wax stamps.
Funeral arrangements for the late Pope Francis are being confirmed by cardinals in Rome, as they meet for the first time sine the pontiff's death.
His death now starts a sequence of events which will see his coffin taken to the St. Peter's Basilica for public viewing followed by a funeral mass.
In his testament released on Monday, Pope Francis had expressed his wish to be buried outside the Vatican, in Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary Major and "without particular decoration" in a simple underground tomb with only 'Franciscus' written on it.Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio, elected as the head of the Catholic Church on 13 March 2013, will be the first pontiff to be buried away from the Vatican in more than a century.
His burial will be followed by nine days of mourning, during which cardinals will arrive in Rome to elect the next pope in a process known as a conclave.
The Vatican announced Pope Francis' passing on Monday at the age of 88 after a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure following weeks of health issues.
The Pope was last seen in public on Easter Sunday, where he blessed thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
He was elected pope in 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
Originally born in Argentina as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he chose Francis as his Papal name in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Francis was the first pope from South America and the first from the Jesuit order - a Roman Catholic order known for its educational and charitable works.
Francis had long battled health problems; he had part of one lung removed as a young man and suffered long bouts of acute bronchitis in winter.
Within hours of the announcement of his death, crowds gathered in the Vatican to pay tribute to the Pope as cathedrals around the world announced special services to celebrate his life.
King Charles, who met with the Pope earlier this month, said he and his wife were "deeply saddened" following his death.
In a statement issued on Monday, the King said: "His Holiness will be remembered for his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith, and to those of goodwill who work for the benefit of others."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute, saying he was a "Pope for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten. He was close to the realities of human fragility, meeting Christians around the world facing war, famine, persecution and poverty. Yet he never lost hope of a better world."
Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster and the most senior Catholic in England of Wales, said: "The death of Pope Francis brings great sadness to so many around the world, both within the Catholic Church and in societies in general."
"A voice proclaiming the innate dignity of every human being, especially those who are poor or marginalised, is now silent. The legacy he leaves is one we must seek to carry forward and strengthen."
In America, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: 'Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!'
He also order that all American flags will be flown at half-mast over the White House, government buildings and military posts across the country and its overseas territories until sunset.
US Vice President JD Vance, who met with the Pope on Sunday, the day before he died, paid tribute saying: "My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.
'I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill.
Pope Francis will be remembered by many as a reformer of the Catholic Church.
The son of Italian immigrants rose to prominence in Argentina after strongly criticising capitalism during a financial crisis which rocked the country in 2001.
He often stressed the role of the Church in serving the poor and marginalised, and was seen to soften the Church's line towards issues such as divorce.
He also promoted unity between Catholics, non-Catholics and non-Christians and apologised for the child abuse scandal in the Church.
As tributes continue to be made by mourners around the world, eyes will soon turn to the late Pope's successor and in which direction the Catholic church will travel under his leadership.