Pope Francis Death LIVE: Latest Updates on when is the funeral? What is Vatican Conclave? Who is the next pope and more…
Pope Francis Death LIVE News Updates: Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic Church's first Latin American head, died of a stroke on April 21, according to the Vatican. He was 88 and had recently survived double pneumonia.
Announcing the demise early in the morning in Rome via the Vatican's TV channel, Reverend Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, said: 'Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.'
As per an official statement from the Holy See (as the Vatican is also known), Cardinal Kevin will preside over the rite of certification of death and the laying of Pope Francis' body in the coffin, which will likely be transferred to St Peter's Basilica on April 23.
'The transfer of the body of the Holy Father to the Vatican Basilica for the homage of all the faithful could take place on Wednesday morning,' the Vatican said. More details are expected today, on April 22 (Tuesday).
According to a report by the AFP, Pope Francis was admitted to a hospital in Rome in February with bronchitis, which later turned into double pneumonia. He stayed at the hospital for 38 days — the longest during his 12-years as Pope, before being released on March 23, as per an AP report.
After leaving the hospital he was to be resting, but undertook a series of impromptu public appearances. The Vatican released his death certificate and confirmed that Pope Francis died of 'cerebral stroke, coma, irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse'.
According to an official statement from the Vatican, the pope's body has been laid to rest at the Chapel of his Santa Marta residence in the evening on April 21. The coffin is likely to be transported to St Peter's Basilica on April 23, to lie in state.
There is no date confirmed for the funeral as yet, but as per tradition is to be held between the fourth and sixth days after the pope's passing — i.e. April 25 or 27. The decision is likely to be made today, on April 22 by a first gathering of cardinals, AFP reported.
A is expected to decide exactly when on Tuesday.
The funeral mass will be held in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, where Francis's immediate predecessors were buried. But he asked to be buried in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
World leaders and faithful from all over the world are expected to flock to the city to attend the ceremony and pay their respects to the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.
US President Donald Trump was the first to announce his attendance.
The starting date of the conclave, during which 135 so-called "cardinal electors" will choose Francis's successor, is not yet known either.
But it should begin no less than 15 and no more than 20 days after the death of the pope.
The cardinals will meet in the Sistine Chapel, a Renaissance jewel adorned with Michelangelo's celebrated frescoes, and hold four ballots a day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, until one candidate wins two-thirds of the votes.
At the end of each session, the ballots are burned in a stove by the chapel, releasing smoke above the Apostolic Palace as the world watches.
If black smoke billows from a chimney overlooking St Peter's Square, the vote has been unsuccessful.
White smoke signals a new pope has been elected.
First Published: 22 Apr 2025, 10:14 AM IST
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