Live Updates: Pope Francis' funeral to take place Saturday
Who will be attending the Pope's funeral?
A number of world leaders have already confirmed their attendance to the funeral of Pope Francis that will be held on Saturday.
President Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social Monday said he would travel to Vatican City alongside First Lady Melania Trump.
He will be joined by the French President Emmanuel Macron, who confirmed his attendance to to reporters Monday. E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also confirmed her attendance Tuesday.
In Francis' birth country of Argentina, President Javier Milei said within hours of the Pope's death that he will attend the funeral service, while the Brazilian government said in a statement Monday that President Lula Da Silva and First Lady Janja Lula da Silva will make the trip to the Vatican.
Middle Eastern leaders express their condolences
In a rare moment of unity, leaders across the Middle-East expressed their condolences for Pope Francis.
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun described Francis as a 'dear friend and strong supporter' of his country, who 'carried Lebanon in his heart and prayers.' Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian highlighted Francis' calls to end the war in Gaza, with Hamas also hailing pope's opposition to the war.
Israel's President Isaac Herzog recalled Francis' prayers for peace in the Middle East, saying in a post on X, 'he dedicated his life to uplifting the poor and calling for peace in a troubled world.'
Qatari leader Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Saudi Arabia's King Salman sent messages of condolences to the Vatican.
Zelenskyy to attend Francis' funeral
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend Francis' funeral this Saturday with First Lady Olena Zelenska, his office told NBC News on Tuesday.
Although the pontiff regularly called for an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, which has a majority Orthodox Christian population, he angered Ukrainians when he last year called on Kyiv to have the courage of the 'white flag' and sue for peace with Russia.
In a tribute to Francis on Monday, Zelenskyy said millions of people around the world were 'mourning the tragic news' of his passing.
'He knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer, and foster unity,' he said in a post on X, adding, 'He prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians.'
Pope reflected on death in a book preface he wrote this year
'Death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something,' Pope Francis wrote in the preface for a new book by Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop Emeritus of Milan, titled 'Awaiting a New Beginning: Reflections on Old Age.'
The preface, which was written early February, was released by the Vatican Publishing House and published in the Vatican News today.
'It is a new beginning, as the title wisely highlights, because eternal life—which those who love already begin to experience on earth within the daily tasks of life—is beginning something that will never end,' Francis wrote.
'And it is precisely for this reason that it is a 'new' beginning, because we will live something we have never fully lived before: eternity,' he wrote.
China, which struck deal with Francis on bishops, offers condolences
China expressed its condolences over the death of Francis, who ended a decades-long dispute between the Vatican and Beijing by accepting seven bishops the Chinese government had named without the pope's consent.
Critics of the 2018 deal accused the Vatican of selling out to communist China, where the government tightly regulates religious activity. The Vatican countered that it was important for improving relations with China, which is estimated to have as many as 12 million Catholics.
'In recent years, China and the Vatican have maintained constructive engagement, conducted useful exchanges, and the provisional agreement regarding the agreement of bishops between China and the Vatican is mostly implemented,' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular briefing today in Beijing. 'China stands ready to work with the Vatican for continued improvement of China-Vatican ties.'
Guo did not say whether China had been invited to Francis' funeral or would send a representative.
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Who's in charge of the Vatican right now?
Mithil Aggarwal
Kevin Farrell, an American cardinal, became the acting head of the Vatican following the death of Pope Francis. The Dublin-born cleric was naturalized as a U.S. citizen after spending many years in the country.
Farrell was incardinated in the archdiocese of Washington in the 1984 and is the former Bishop of Dallas. Francis proclaimed Farrell a Cardinal in 2016 and, in 2023, appointed him as the president of Vatican's Supreme Court.
Right now, the cardinal holds the position of chamberlain, or camerlengo, leaving him in charge of the administration and finances of the Holy See during the interregnum — the period between one pope's death and his successor's election.
While he's also in charge of making the arrangements for the conclave, the poll of cardinals that chooses the next pope, his temporary position as chamberlain does not bar him from the papacy.
Thousands gather in the Philippines to mourn Francis
As bells tolled in churches around the Philippines, which Francis visited in 2015, thousands of worshipers gathered there to pray and reflect on the pontiff's legacy.
'As we mourn his passing, we honor a life that brought hope and compassion to so many and inspired us to love one another as Christ loved us,' wrote Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the President of the Philippines, in a post on Facebook.
Philippines is home to the world's third-largest Catholic population, with around 80% of the population identifying as Catholic, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Cardinal Luis Tagle there is among the leading candidates to succeed Francis.
Japan, South Korea and India mourn Francis' death
National flags were flown at half-staff today in Japan, which Francis visited in 2019. Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Yoshimasa Hayashi, the government's top spokesperson, noted that during that trip Francis visited the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the U.S. dropped atomic bombs at the end of World War II, and called for a 'world without nuclear weapons.'
India, home to over 20 million Catholics, said it will also fly national flags at half-mast while declaring a three-day national mourning period.
Seoul's Archdiocese said a memorial altar will be set up at the Myeondong Cathedral this afternoon for the public to pay tribute to Francis, who visited South Korea just a year into his papacy in 2014.
Body of Pope Francis displayed at the Vatican
The body of Pope Francis is being displayed in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel in Vatican City, after his death yesterday at the age of 88. Francis is shown in a wooden casket, in red vestments and his bishop's miter.
Francis' funeral to be held this Saturday
Pope Francis' funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET), the Vatican has said, with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re presiding over the funeral liturgy.
The funeral Mass will be celebrated in the churchyard of the St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican said, adding the pontiff's body will be taken to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial.
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Francis' body to be taken to St. Peter's Basilica tomorrow
The coffin containing Francis's body will be taken to St. Peter's Basilica tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET), the Vatican has said.
A procession will pass through Saint Martha's Square, then into Saint Peter's Square before entering the Basilica.
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Fiji archbishop recalls pope's 'vulnerability' on Papua New Guinea trip
In a message of condolence, the archbishop for the Archdiocese of Suva in Fiji said he was 'touched by Pope Francis' ministry' while accompanying him on a visit last year to Papua New Guinea, another Pacific island nation.
Francis made his historic Asia-Pacific trip despite concerns about his health and spent much of the visit in a wheelchair. 'He embraced his own vulnerability as he often asked people to pray for him,' Archbishop Peter Loy Chong said in a statement.
Chong said Francis also 'gave a message of hope and challenge' to the people of Oceania, where climate change threatens some countries' very existence.
'He said, Oceania is far out in the ocean, distant from the rest of the world but at the center of God's heart,' Chong said. 'The Pope's care for the Ocean resonates with the scientific view that if we care for the earth, the ocean is the first ecosystem that we should protect.'
Australian PM halts election campaign to mark pope's death
Mithil Aggarwal
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese marked the pope's death by pausing election campaigning and attending a Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne.
'The holy father was one of the most consequential leaders of this century and of our lifetime. He was, indeed, the people's pope,' Albanese, who was educated at Catholic schools, told reporters this morning as early voting began in the May 3 federal election.
Government flags will fly at half-staff as a sign of respect, the Australian leader said.
Body of Pope Francis displayed at the Vatican
Images taken yesterday and released this morning, show Pope Francis in an open coffin at the Chapel of Santa Marta in the Vatican.
Pope honored on Buenos Aires landmark
In Pope Francis' birth country of Argentina, the obelisk of Buenos Aires was last night illuminated with a projection of the deceased pontiff bearing the phrase in Spanish that translates as 'pray for me.'
Who will be the next pope? Here are some of the contenders
Henry Austin
Dust off the history books and there are papal conclaves with international intrigue, royal rigging and even riots, a checkered past that belies the air of sanctity and solemnity surrounding modern papal elections.
The word 'conclave' comes from the Latin for 'with key.' It is a church tradition that began in 1268 with a papal election that lasted almost three years, ending only when the townspeople of Viterbo locked up the cardinals, tore the roof off their palace, fed them nothing but bread and water and threatened them until a new pope was chosen.
While it is very unlikely the decision on Pope Francis' successor will take quite as long or be quite as contentious, Vatican watchers agree that the winner is not a foregone conclusion.
'The great joy of the conclave is that nobody really knows and it's such a unique electorate,' James Somerville-Meikle, the former deputy director of the Catholic Union of Great Britain, told NBC News before Francis' death. 'So many conclaves in the past have thrown up surprises.'
A series of ancient traditions rule the pope's funeral and conclave
In life, Pope Francis strayed from the more conservative path forged by his predecessors Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict.
But in death, Francis will be following in many of John Paul's footsteps.
The demise of the first Argentine to lead the Roman Catholic Church set into motion a series of rituals, some of which go back more than 2,000 years and have been used to bury more than 250 popes.
They are compiled in a more than 400-page tome called the ' Ordo exsequiarum Romani pontificis,' which includes the liturgy, music and prayers used for papal funerals over the centuries.
'The Ordo covers the rituals that are followed from the moment a pope dies to the moment a pope is buried,' said the Rev. David Collins, an associate professor and the director of Catholic studies at Georgetown University.
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