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Sunday World
25-04-2025
- General
- Sunday World
How to watch the funeral of Pope Francis – and how is it breaking from tradition?
Tens of thousands of people waited for hours to pay their respects to the pontiff as his body was lying in state this week. Faithful queue near St. Peter's Basilica to pay respects as Pope Francis lies in state, as seen from Rome, Italy, April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem The funeral of Pope Francis, who died on Monday at the age of 88, will take place in Rome on Saturday morning. Tens of thousands of people waited for hours to pay their respects to the pontiff as his body was lying in state this week. The coffin will be sealed by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is originally from Dublin, in a ritual this evening ahead of the papal funeral on Saturday morning. What time will the funeral take place at? The funeral will begin at 9am Irish time, which is 10am local time in Rome. How can I watch it? Coverage of the papal funeral begins at 8.30am on RTÉ One, RTÉ Player and RTÉ Radio One on Saturday morning. It will also be livestreamed by Vatican News on YouTube. Where is it taking place? The funeral mass is taking place in St Peter's Square in the Vatican City, followed by burial at Santa Maria Maggiore. What happens during the funeral? An outdoor service led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the college of cardinals, will be held at St Peter's Square. Following the funeral mass, a procession will take his coffin to Santa Maria Maggiore, just over two miles from St Peter's, for burial. How will this funeral be different from other papal funerals? Pope Francis did not wish for a funeral and burial that followed traditional papal funerals, instead setting out simplified plans that would allow him to be 'laid out and buried like any son or daughter of the church', without an elevated platform. He wanted his body placed in a single, simple coffin made of wood and lined with zinc instead of the traditional three coffins seen during papal funerals, which saw the body placed in a cypress wood coffin which was placed in a lead coffin which was placed in an oak coffin. Pope Francis will be buried in the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica rather than St Peter's Basilica. He requested to be buried 'in the ground, without particular decoration' other than the inscription of his papal name in Latin, Franciscus. His tomb has been made with materials from the Italian region of Liguria, where his great grandfather lived before emigrating to Argentina in the 1800s. Who will be in attendance? President Michael D Higgins, his wife Sabina, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris will represent Ireland at the funeral. US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania will also be in attendance, alongside UN secretary general António Guterres, French president Emmanuel Macron, UK prime minister Keir Starmer and others. Tens of thousands members of the public are also expected to attend. There are extensive security plans in place as a result of the high-profile guests and world leaders who will be in Rome this weekend, including barriers, anti-drone weaponry and anti-terrorism units. What happens next? The Novemdiales, the nine days of mourning, will take place following the funeral. The conclave, when 135 cardinals will gather in the Sistine Chapel to appoint the next pope, is expected to begin between May 5 and 10. A pontiff is only elected when a single candidate receives a two-thirds majority in a secret ballot. The ballot papers are then burned in a small fire inside the Sistine Chapel. The black smoke which is produced by the fire tells the crowds waiting outside that a new pope has yet to be chosen. When a new pontiff has been elected, the ballot papers are burned along with an additive that turns the smoke white.
Straits Times
24-04-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Crowds queue to pay final respects to Pope Francis at the Vatican
A view of St. Peter's Basilica, as Pope Francis lies in state, as seen from Rome, Italy April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem Nuns queue to enter St. Peter's Basilica to pay respect as Pope Francis lies in state, as seen from Rome, Italy, April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem A nun sits on side of the road as faithful queue to enter St. Peter's Basilica to pay respect as Pope Francis lies in state, as seen from Rome, Italy, April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem Faithful pay respect as Pope Francis lies in state in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi VATICAN CITY - St. Peter's Basilica opened its doors again on Thursday after a brief closure in the early hours to welcome crowds of worshippers from around the world lining up to pay their final respects to Pope Francis. Some 50,000 people have flooded the basilica to pay homage to the late pontiff since his body was laid out on Wednesday in an open coffin ahead of his funeral on Saturday, Vatican officials said. Francis died aged 88 on Monday morning in his rooms at the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse, having only recently left hospital after five weeks being treated for double pneumonia. "He was a wonderful pope," said Rome resident Alessandra Caccamo, as she queued outside the Vatican. "I'm going to miss him so much, because it's like I've lost a piece of me." The basilica had been initially scheduled to close at midnight on Wednesday but given the size of the crowds, officials kept it open until 5:30 a.m. (0330 GMT), before it reopened at 7 a.m. The head of the pontiff's medical team said in interviews published on Thursday that Francis had died quickly from an unexpected stroke without suffering undue pain. "I entered his rooms and he (Francis) had his eyes open," Sergio Alfieri told Corriere della Sera newspaper. "I ascertained that there were no respiratory problems. And then I tried to call his name, but he did not respond to me." "In that moment I knew there was nothing more to do," said Alfieri. FUNERAL PLANS Francis, who was from Argentina and was the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, had an often turbulent 12-year reign in which he repeatedly clashed with Church traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalised. On Saturday, over 170 delegations including heads of state and government including U.S. President Donald Trump are expected in St. Peter's Square for the funeral ceremony, with millions more watching on television across the globe. "A chapter in the Church's history has been closed," Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller told Italian daily La Repubblica in an interview published on Thursday. Mueller is one of the 135 cardinals eligible to vote in the secret conclave that will be held next month to elect the Church's 267th pontiff. The German cardinal said that there was "unanimous appreciation" for the late pope's work on migrants and the poor. However he said that the task was to choose a successor to St. Peter, the first pope, rather than Francis, indicating he favoured a change of direction. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Palestinians return to Gaza City as mediators look ahead to next stage
By Mohammed Salem and Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA/CAIRO (Reuters) -Displaced Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza City this week found a city in ruins after 15 months of fighting, with many seeking shelter amongst the rubble and searching for relatives lost in the chaotic return march. Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, is a shell of the bustling urban centre it was before the war, with swathes of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments and piles of rubble and torn-up concrete on every side. "Look at this scene, there is nothing to say," said a man who gave his name as Abu Mohammad as he searched for a place to settle. "People will sleep on the ground. There is nothing left." Many of those returning, often laden with what personal possessions they still have after months of being moved around as the battlegrounds shifted, had trekked 20 km (12 miles) or more along the coastal highway north. "I am waiting for my father, mother and brother. We lost them on the way," said Jameel Abed, who walked up from the central area of the Gaza Strip. "We found some lights here and we are waiting for them," he said. "There is no car, no tuktuk, no donkey cart, no vehicle, nothing that could move on this road." By late on Monday, Gaza's Hamas authorities said more than 300,000 people, or almost half of those displaced from the north during the war, had crossed into Gaza City and the north edge of the enclave from areas in the south. Even as those who arrived in Gaza looked around for somewhere to settle down, tens of thousands were still moving north as mediators began preliminary work on the second stage of ceasefire negotiations due to begin next week. Three more Israeli hostages are due to be handed over on Thursday by Hamas, the militant group still in control of Gaza, with another three expected on Saturday, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners set for release from Israeli jails, some of whom will go into exile. In Cairo, a high-level Hamas team led by Mohammad Darwish, head of the group's leading council, held talks with Egyptian mediators, and welcomed 70 Palestinian prisoners who arrived in Cairo prior to being moved to third countries who would be willing to host them, a Hamas statement said. These include Qatar, Turkey, and Algeria, according to Hamas and other sources. Later on Tuesday, Hamas said the delegation has also discussed with Cairo officials alleged Israeli violations of the truce and ideas to achieve national unity with the rival Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, including an Egyptian proposal to form a committee to run post-war Gaza. Hamas, which has run Gaza since 2007, and Abbas's authority, which has a sway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, have so far failed to end political splits that weakened Palestinian aspirations for statehood. NEGOTIATIONS Under the terms of the ceasefire, agreed this month with Egyptian and Qatari mediation and U.S. support, 33 hostages are due to be released during a six-week ceasefire, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them serving life sentences in Israeli jails. Seven hostages and 290 prisoners have so far been exchanged. A second stage, which will decide what happens to more than 60 other hostages, including men of military age as well as a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, is due to begin by next Tuesday. If that succeeds, a full end to the war could follow. It would also open the way to talks on reconstructing Gaza, now largely destroyed by an Israeli campaign that killed almost 47,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities. The conflict was triggered by the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to an Israeli toll, and saw more than 250 taken hostage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure from some hardliners in his government, unhappy that the agreement leaves Hamas still in power in Gaza, not to proceed to the second stage but to recommence fighting to secure what they see as total victory. But Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, said the group believed the talks would go ahead. "We are ready to begin negotiations for the second phase at the specified time and are confident that Netanyahu has no choice but to proceed with the second phase," he said. What would follow full implementation of the ceasefire remains unclear after Israel's repeated declarations that Hamas will not be allowed to remain in power in Gaza. U.S. President Donald Trump's call for Palestinians in Gaza to be taken to Egypt or Jordan, though strongly rejected in the region and by Palestinian officials and residents, has further complicated the outlook. (Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; editing by James Mackenzie, Sharon Singleton and Angus MacSwan)
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Palestinians return to Gaza City as mediators look ahead to next stage
By Mohammed Salem and Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA/CAIRO (Reuters) - Displaced Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza City this week found a city in ruins after 15 months of fighting, with many seeking shelter amongst the rubble and searching for relatives lost in the chaotic return march. Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, is a shell of the bustling, rough-edged urban centre it was before the war, with swathes of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments and piles of rubble and torn up concrete on every side. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. "Look at this scene, there is nothing to say," said a man who gave his name as Abu Mohammad as he searched for a place to settle. "People will sleep on the ground. There is nothing left." Many of those returning, often laden with what personal possessions they still have after months of being moved around as the focus of the war shifted, had walked 20 km (12 miles) or more along the coastal highway north. "I am waiting for my father, mother and brother. We lost them on the way," said Jameel Abed, who walked up from the central area of the Gaza Strip. "We found some lights here and we are waiting for them," he said. "There is no car, no tuktuk, no donkey cart, no vehicle, nothing that could move on this road." By late on Monday, Gaza's Hamas authorities said more than 300,000 people, or almost half of those displaced from the north during the war, had crossed into Gaza City and the north edge of the enclave from areas in the south. Even as those who arrived in Gaza looked around for somewhere to settle down, tens of thousands were still moving north as mediators began preliminary work on the second stage of ceasefire negotiations due to begin next week. Three more Israeli hostages are due to be handed over on Thursday by Hamas, the militant group still in control of Gaza, with another three expected on Saturday, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners set for release from Israeli jails, some of whom will go into exile. In Cairo, a high-profile Hamas team led by Mohammad Darwish, head of the group's leading council, arrived for talks with Egyptian mediators, and to welcome 70 Palestinian prisoners who arrived in Cairo prior to being moved to third countries who would be willing to host them. These include Qatar, Turkey, and Algiers, according to Hamas and other sources. NEGOTIATIONS Under the terms of the ceasefire, agreed this month with Egyptian and Qatari mediation and U.S. support, 33 hostages are due to be released during a six week ceasefire, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them serving life sentences in Israeli jails. Seven hostages and 290 prisoners have so far been exchanged. A second stage, which will decide what happens to more than 60 other hostages, including men of military age as well as a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, is due to begin by next Tuesday. If that succeeds, a full end to the war could follow. The conflict was triggered by the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to an Israeli toll, and saw more than 250 taken hostage. It would also open the way to talks on reconstructing Gaza, now largely destroyed by an Israeli campaign that killed almost 47,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure from some hardliners in his government, unhappy that the agreement leaves Hamas still in power in Gaza, not to proceed to the second stage but to recommence fighting to secure what they see as total victory. But Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, said the group believed the talks would go ahead. "We are ready to begin negotiations for the second phase at the specified time and are confident that Netanyahu has no choice but to proceed with the second phase," he said. What would follow full implementation of the ceasefire remains unclear after Israel's repeated declarations that Hamas will not be allowed to remain in power in Gaza. U.S. President Donald Trump's call for Palestinians in Gaza to be taken to Egypt or Jordan, though strongly rejected in the region and by Palestinian officials and residents, has further complicated the outlook. (Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; editing by James Mackenzie and Sharon Singleton)
