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Hindustan Times
26-04-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Pope Francis funeral in Rome: Date, time, full list of guests
Pope Francis, who died earlier this week on Monday aged 88, will be laid to rest on Saturday morning. The pope's funeral will be held in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican is expected to be attended by dignitaries from all over the world, including President Droupadi Murmu and US President Donald Trump. Pope Francis will be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in central Rome after all the ceremonies of his funeral are over. Public access to viewing Pope Francis one last time was closed on Friday after three days. His coffin was then sealed in a private ceremony called the Rite of the Sealing of the Coffin at St. Peter's Basilica. Also read: Pope Francis' funeral seating chart revealed: Trump, Biden could share awkward moment in Rome The funeral of Pope Francis will start at 10am local time (around 1:30pm Indian time) on Saturday morning. His coffin will be taken out of St Peter's Basilica to the public square, and the funeral mass will begin, presided over by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, which will be officially joined by 220 cardinals, and 750 bishops and priests near the altar, and more than 4,000 other priests con-celebrating in the square. According to Reuters, a choir singing introductory rites in Latin will begin the funeral mass, followed by a series of rituals and prayers performed by Cardinal Re. Before the end of the mass, Pope Francis' coffin will be sprinkled with holy water and incense, and the funeral will be concluded with a ritual called 'Final Commendation and Farewell', in which the Pope's soul will be commended to God. The funeral mass is expected to be over by 11.45am local time (around 3:15pm IST) and Pope Francis' coffin will be taken to Santa Maria Maggiore through a procession which is expected to be joined by the crowd. Pope Francis will be buried privately, and his tomb will be open to the public from Sunday morning, according to the Vatican. The Pope's funeral will also be the first day of the nine days of mourning and masses by the Church in a tradition called the Novemdiales. According to the Vatican, Pope Francis' funeral is expected to be attended by over 150 delegations, including 54 heads of state and 12 reigning sovereigns, reported PA media. India: President Droupadi Murmu Australia: Governor-General Sam Mostyn Bangladesh: Interim leader Muhammad Yunus East Timor: President Jose Ramos Horta Indonesia: former president Joko Widodo New Zealand: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos Argentina: President Javier Milei Belize: Governor-General Froyla Tzalam Brazil: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Canada: Governor General Mary Simon Dominican Republic: President Luis Abinader Ecuador: President Daniel Noboa Azin Honduras: President Xiomara Castro United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres United States: President Donald Trump, Former president Joe Biden Albania: President Bajram Begaj Andorra: Co-Prince Joan-Enric Vives Sicilia Armenia: President Vahagn Khachaturyan Austria: President Alexander Van der Bellen, Chancellor Christian Stocker Belgium: King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, with Prime Minister Bart De Wever Bosnia-Herzegovina: President Zelika Cvijanovic Bulgaria: Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov Croatia: President Zoran Milanovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic Cyprus: President Nikos Christodoulides Czech Republic: Prime Minister Petr Fiala Denmark: Queen Mary Estonia: President Alar Karis European Union: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, European Council president Antonio Costa Finland: President Alexander Stubb France: President Emmanuel Macron Georgia: President Mikheil Kavelashvili Germany: President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz Greece: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis Hungary: President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban Iceland: President Halla Tomasdottir Ireland: President Michael Higgins and Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin Italy: President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Kosovo: President Vjosa Osmani Latvia: President Edgars Rinkevics Liechtenstein: Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie Lithuania: President Gitanas Nauseda Luxembourg: Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Prime Minister Luc Frieden Malta: President Myriam Spiteri Debono Moldova: President Maia Sandu Monaco: Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene Montenegro: President Jakov Milatovic Netherlands: Prime Minister Dick Schoof North Macedonia: President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova Norway: Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide Poland: President Andrzej Duda Portugal: President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro Romania: Interim president Ilie Bolojan Russia: Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova Serbia: Prime Minister Djuro Macut Slovakia: President Peter Pellegrini Slovenia: President Natasa Pirc Musar and Prime Minister Robert Golob Spain: King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia Sweden: King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as well as Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson Switzerland: President Karin Keller-Sutter Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky United Kingdom: Prince William representing King Charles III, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer Iran: Culture Minister Abbas Salehi, representing President Masoud Pezeshkian Israel: Yaron Sideman, Ambassador to the Holy See Jordan: King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Lebanon: President Joseph Aoun Palestinian Authority: Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa Qatar: Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani United Arab Emirates: Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Angola: President Joao Lourenco Burundi: Vice President Prosper Bazombanza Cape Verde: President Jose Maria Neves Central African Republic: President Faustin-Archange Touadera DR Congo: President Felix Tshisekedi Gabon: President Brice Oligui Nguema Kenya: President William Ruto Lesotho: King Letsie III Madagascar: President Andry Rajoelina Morocco: Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch Mozambique: President Daniel Chapo Seychelles: President Wavel Ramkalawan Sierra Leone: President Julius Maada Bio Southern Africa: Cardinal Stephen Brislin, president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference Togo: President Faure Gnassingbe With agency inputs
Eyewitness News
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Vatican braces for huge crowds ahead of Pope's funeral
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican will make final preparations Friday for Pope Francis's funeral as the last of the huge crowds of mourners file through St Peter's Basilica to view his open coffin. Many of the 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs attending Saturday's ceremony in St Peter's Square, who include US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, are expected to arrive on Friday in Rome. Italian and Vatican authorities have placed the area around St Peter's under tight security ahead of the funeral, with drones blocked, snipers on roofs and fighter jets on standby. Further checkpoints will be activated Friday night, police said. Tens of thousands of people have already queued for hours to pay their last respects to Francis, whose coffin will be closed at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) in a ceremony attended by senior cardinals. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo who is running the Vatican's day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected, will preside over the so-called "Rite of the Sealing of the Coffin". The Catholic Church's first Latin American pope died on Monday aged 88, less than a month after spending weeks in hospital with severe pneumonia. Veronique Montes-Coulomb, a tourist from Toulouse in France, who attended the lying-in-state Thursday at St Peter's, said she had been at the mass on Easter Sunday - the pontiff's last public outing. "We saw the pope passing by in the 'popemobile'; he seemed relatively healthy, and we were surprised to learn that he had died on Monday morning," she told AFP. The Argentine pontiff, who had long suffered failing health, defied doctors' orders by appearing at Easter, the most important moment in the Catholic calendar. Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed those on the fringes of society in his 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. He used his last speech to rail against those who stir up "contempt... towards the vulnerable, the marginalised, and migrants". At least 130 foreign delegations are expected at his funeral, including Argentina's President Javier Milei and Britain's Prince William, and a no-fly zone will be in force. 'BRIEF BUT INTENSE' The pope's coffin was set before St Peter's altar for his three days of lying-in-state, with Francis dressed in his papal vestments - a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes. "It was a brief but intense moment next to his body," Italian Massimo Palo, 63, told AFP after his visit. "He was a pope amongst his flock, amongst his people, and I hope the next papacies will be a bit like his," he added. Italy's civil protection agency estimates that "several hundred thousand" people will descend on Rome on what was already set to be a busy weekend due to a public holiday on Friday. After the funeral, Francis's coffin will be driven at a walking pace to be buried at his favourite church, Rome's papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The pontiff was a champion of underdogs, and a group of "poor and needy", will be there to welcome the coffin, the Vatican said. He will be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus. People will be able to visit the tomb from Sunday morning. Following that, all eyes will turn to the process to choose Francis's successor. Cardinals from around the world have been returning to Rome for the funeral and the conclave, when a new pontiff will be elected. In the absence of a pope, the cardinals have been meeting every day to agree the next steps, with another meeting due on Friday at 9:00 am (0700 GMT). They have yet to announce a date for the conclave, but it must begin no fewer than 15 days and no more than 20 days after a pope's death. Only those under the age of 80 - currently some 135 cardinals - are eligible to vote. Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was number two to Francis, is the favourite, according to British bookmakers William Hill. They put him ahead of Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, the Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Manila, followed by Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson, and Matteo Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna.
IOL News
25-04-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Vatican braces for huge crowds ahead of Pope's funeral
Following the death of Pope Francis, a requiem mass is held in his memory lead by the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg Cardinal Stephen Brislin. The Vatican will make final preparations Friday for Pope Francis's funeral as the last of the huge crowds of mourners file through St Peter's Basilica to view his open coffin. Image: Timothy Bernard/Independent Media The Vatican will make final preparations Friday for Pope Francis's funeral as the last of the huge crowds of mourners file through St Peter's Basilica to view his open coffin. Many of the 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs attending Saturday's ceremony in St Peter's Square, who include US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, are expected to arrive on Friday in Rome. Italian and Vatican authorities have placed the area around St Peter's under tight security ahead of the funeral, with drones blocked, snipers on roofs and fighter jets on standby. Further check-points will be activated Friday night, police said. Tens of thousands of people have already queued for hours to pay their last respects to Francis, whose coffin will be closed at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) in a ceremony attended by senior cardinals. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo who is running the Vatican's day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected, will preside over the so-called "Rite of the Sealing of the Coffin". The Catholic Church's first Latin American pope died on Monday aged 88, less than a month after spending weeks in hospital with severe pneumonia. Veronique Montes-Coulomb, a tourist from Toulouse in France, who attended the lying-in-state Thursday at St Peter's, said she had been at the mass on Easter Sunday -- the pontiff's last public outing. "We saw the pope passing by in the 'popemobile'; he seemed relatively healthy, and we were surprised to learn that he had died on Monday morning," she told AFP. The Argentine pontiff, who had long suffered failing health, defied doctors' orders by appearing at Easter, the most important moment in the Catholic calendar. Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed those on the fringes of society in his 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. He used his last speech to rail against those who stir up "contempt... towards the vulnerable, the marginalised, and migrants". At least 130 foreign delegations are expected at his funeral, including Argentina's President Javier Milei and Britain's Prince William, and a no-fly zone will be in force. 'Brief but intense' The pope's coffin was set before St Peter's altar for his three days of lying-in-state, with Francis dressed in his papal vestments -- a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes. "It was a brief but intense moment next to his body," Italian Massimo Palo, 63, told AFP after his visit. "He was a pope amongst his flock, amongst his people, and I hope the next papacies will be a bit like his," he added. Italy's civil protection agency estimates that "several hundred thousand" people will descend on Rome on what was already set to be a busy weekend due to a public holiday on Friday. After the funeral, Francis's coffin will be driven at a walking pace to be buried at his favourite church, Rome's papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The body of the late Pope Francis has been transferred to St. Peter's Basilica to lie in state until his funeral on Saturday morning. Image: Vatican News
New Straits Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Vatican braces for huge crowds ahead of Pope's funeral
VATICAN CITY: The Vatican will make final preparations Friday for Pope Francis's funeral as the last of the huge crowds of mourners file through St Peter's Basilica to view his open coffin. Many of the 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs attending Saturday's ceremony in St Peter's Square, who include US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are expected to arrive on Friday in Rome. Italian and Vatican authorities have placed the area around St Peter's under tight security ahead of the funeral, with drones blocked, snipers on roofs and fighter jets on standby. Further check-points will be activated Friday night, police said. Tens of thousands of people have already queued for hours to pay their last respects to Francis, whose coffin will be closed at 8pm (1800 GMT) in a ceremony attended by senior cardinals. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo who is running the Vatican's day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected, will preside over the so-called "Rite of the Sealing of the Coffin". The Catholic Church's first Latin American pope died on Monday aged 88, less than a month after spending weeks in hospital with severe pneumonia. Veronique Montes-Coulomb, a tourist from Toulouse in France, who attended the lying-in-state Thursday at St Peter's, said she had been at the mass on Easter Sunday -- the pontiff's last public outing. "We saw the pope passing by in the 'popemobile'; he seemed relatively healthy, and we were surprised to learn that he had died on Monday morning," she told AFP. The Argentine pontiff, who had long suffered failing health, defied doctors' orders by appearing at Easter, the most important moment in the Catholic calendar. Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed those on the fringes of society in his 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. He used his last speech to rail against those who stir up "contempt... towards the vulnerable, the marginalised, and migrants". At least 130 foreign delegations are expected at his funeral, including Argentina's President Javier Milei and Britain's Prince William, and a no-fly zone will be in force. The pope's coffin was set before St Peter's altar for his three days of lying-in-state, with Francis dressed in his papal vestments -- a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes. "It was a brief but intense moment next to his body," Italian Massimo Palo, 63, told AFP after his visit. "He was a pope amongst his flock, amongst his people, and I hope the next papacies will be a bit like his," he added. Italy's civil protection agency estimates that "several hundred thousand" people will descend on Rome on what was already set to be a busy weekend due to a public holiday on Friday. After the funeral, Francis's coffin will be driven at a walking pace to be buried at his favourite church, Rome's papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The pontiff was a champion of underdogs, and a group of "poor and needy", will be there to welcome the coffin, the Vatican said. He will be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus. People will be able to visit the tomb from Sunday morning. Following that, all eyes will turn to the process to choose Francis's successor. Cardinals from around the world have been returning to Rome for the funeral and the conclave, when a new pontiff will be elected. In the absence of a pope, the cardinals have been meeting every day to agree the next steps, with another meeting due on Friday at 9am (0700 GMT). They have yet to announce a date for the conclave, but it must begin no fewer than 15 days and no more than 20 days after a pope's death. Only those under the age of 80 -- currently some 135 cardinals -- are eligible to vote. Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was number two to Francis, is the favourite, according to British bookmakers William Hill. They put him ahead of Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, the Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Manila, followed by Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson, and Matteo Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna. - AFP
The Guardian
25-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Vatican readies for Pope Francis's funeral as mourners gather for final day of viewing
The Vatican will make final preparations on Friday for Pope Francis's funeral as the last of the huge crowds of mourners file through St Peter's Basilica to view his open coffin. Many of the 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs attending Saturday's ceremony in St Peter's Square, who include US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are expected to arrive in Rome on Friday. Italian and Vatican authorities have placed the area around St Peter's under tight security before the funeral, with drones blocked, snipers on roofs and fighter jets on standby. Tens of thousands of people have already queued for hours to pay their last respects to Francis, whose coffin will be closed at 8pm local time in a ceremony attended by senior cardinals. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo who is running the Vatican's day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected, will preside over the so-called 'Rite of the Sealing of the Coffin'. The Catholic church's first Latin American pope died on Monday aged 88, less than a month after spending weeks in hospital with severe pneumonia. Veronique Montes-Coulomb, a tourist from Toulouse in France who attended the lying in state on Thursday at St Peter's, said she had been at the mass on Easter Sunday – the pontiff's last public outing. 'We saw the pope passing by in the popemobile, he seemed relatively healthy, and we were surprised to learn that he had died on Monday morning,' she told AFP. The Argentine pontiff, who had long suffered failing health, defied doctors' orders by appearing at Easter, the most important moment in the Catholic calendar. Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed those on the fringes of society in his 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. He used his last speech to rail against those who stir up 'contempt … towards the vulnerable, the marginalised and migrants'. At least 130 foreign delegations are expected at his funeral, including Argentina's president, Javier Milei, and Britain's Prince William, and a no-fly zone will be in force. The pope's coffin was set before St Peter's altar for his three days of lying in state, with Francis dressed in his papal vestments – a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes. 'It was a brief but intense moment next to his body,' Italian Massimo Palo, 63, told AFP after his visit. 'He was a pope amongst his flock, amongst his people, and I hope the next papacies will be a bit like his.' Italy's civil protection agency estimates that 'several hundred thousand' people will descend on Rome on what was already set to be a busy weekend due to a public holiday on Friday. After the funeral, Francis's coffin will be driven at a walking pace to be buried at his favourite church, Rome's papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. He will be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus. People will be able to visit the tomb from Sunday morning. Following that, all eyes will turn to the process to choose Francis's successor. Cardinals from around the world have been returning to Rome for the funeral and the conclave to elect a new pontiff. In the absence of a pope, the cardinals have been meeting every day to agree the next steps, with another meeting due on Friday. They have yet to announce a date for the conclave, but it must begin no fewer than 15 days and no more than 20 days after a pope's death. Only those under the age of 80 – currently about 135 cardinals – are eligible to vote.
