SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
By Alvise Armellini
Vatican City: Pope Francis’ body will be moved to St Peter’s Basilica today to allow the public to pay their final respects to the pontiff before his funeral on Saturday.
Francis, a groundbreaking reformer, died aged 88 on Monday from a stroke and cardiac arrest, ending an often-turbulent 12-year reign in which he repeatedly clashed with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalised. His death, which came as a relative surprise, has set in motion ancient rituals that will culminate with the election of a new pope in the weeks ahead.
What happens before the funeral?
The pope’s body is already laid out in an open coffin in the private chapel of his Vatican residence, Casa Santa Marta, but will be moved later today to St Peter’s Basilica, where the public will be able to pay their respects.
A grand procession of cardinals, bishops and Vatican officials will accompany the body to St Peter’s Basilica at 9am. The procession will feature Latin chants and will cross Piazza Santa Marta and Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani before entering St Peter’s Square and the Basilica via its central door.
Once inside, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the church’s camerlengo, who is in charge of ordinary affairs until a new pope is elected, will preside over a Liturgy of the Word (Bible readings and prayers) at the main altar. The public will then be able to view the pope’s body. The basilica will be open to the public to pay their respects until midnight on Wednesday, from 7am to midnight on Thursday, and from 7am to 7pm on Friday.
When and where will Pope Francis’ funeral be held?
The Pope’s funeral will be held on Saturday at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, starting at 10am local time (6pm AEST). The service is expected to last about 2.5 hours before the pope’s body will be moved from the Vatican and through Rome to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of Rome’s oldest and most revered churches, where Francis wished to be buried in a simple underground tomb.
Who will be attending?
Dozens of world leaders and royalty will be at the funeral, including:
- Prince William
- US President Donald Trump
- Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia
- Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde
- Monaco’s Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene
- United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres
- European Union Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen
- French President Emmanuel Macron
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
- British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer; and
- Javier Milei, president of Argentina, where Francis was born.
Others to attend include representatives from the Czech Republic, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Poland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not attend, the Kremlin said.
What are the funeral plans?
The funeral Mass on Saturday will start at 10am (6pm AEST) and will be held in front of the Basilica in St Peter’s Square. The weather is expected to be sunny, with a high of 23 degrees.
The Mass will be led by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, who also led the funeral for Pope Benedict XVI in 2023. It will be co-celebrated by the church’s patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops and bishops.
The funeral will begin with a procession of clergy and the Pope’s coffin. After Holy Communion, the final rite of ultimo commendatio will be performed for the Pope, during which his soul is commended to God, followed by a final farewell, called valedictio.
The pope’s coffin will then be returned to St Peter’s Basilica one last time before being moved to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial, the Holy See Press Office said.
When will a new pope be announced?
After the Pope’s funeral, the Vatican will honour nine days of mourning, known as the novemdiales. Cardinal Re will then summon the church’s cardinals to the Vatican for the conclave that will choose the new pope. He is expected to do that 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death. It is not expected to start before May 6.
The conclave takes place in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. There are about 250 cardinals, all of whom can attend the conclave, but only those aged under 80 on the day it starts can take part in the election of the new pope, a process that can involve multiple ballots and taken many days.
There is no clear frontrunner to succeed Francis, although British bookmakers have singled out Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines, and Pietro Parolin, a compromise choice from Italy, as early favourites.
