Pope Francis’s funeral will take place on Saturday in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican has confirmed, with hundreds of thousands expected to attend.
The head of the Catholic Church died of a stroke on Monday, aged 88, less than 24 hours after leading an Easter address. He had been in poor health after recently battling double pneumonia.
A host of world leaders and royals – including Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, the Prince of Wales, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, home to the biggest Catholic population in the world – have confirmed their attendance, according to a report tonight by BBC .
Thousands of mourners have already flocked to Vatican City, carrying flowers, crosses and candles and reciting prayers.
On Tuesday, April 22, the Vatican released further details of the Pope’s final 24 hours.
Francis, who had recently spent five weeks in hospital, was slightly apprehensive about appearing on the balcony on Sunday.
“Do you think I can do this?” the Pope asked his personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti.
Strappetti reassured him and moments later the pontiff appeared on the balcony, blessing the crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square below.
The following morning at around 05:30 local time (03:30 GMT), Francis began to feel unwell. An hour later, he waved at Strappetti before slipping into a coma.
“Those who were near him in those moments say he didn’t suffer,” the Vatican said in a statement. “It was a discreet death.”
The funeral will start at 10:00 in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica.
Patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests from across the globe will take part. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, will lead the service.
Cardinal Re will deliver the final commendation and valediction – a concluding prayer where the Pope will be formally entrusted to God – and the pontiff’s body will be moved to St Mary Major for the burial.
A nine-day mourning period, known as Novemdiales, then begins.
What Happens Before The Funeral?
On Wednesday morning, April 23, Pope Francis’s body will be taken in a procession led by cardinals from the Chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica, where he will remain in an open coffin until Friday to allow mourners to pay their respects.
Just before the procession, a moment of prayer will be led by the camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is running the Vatican in the wake of the Pope’s death.
The Vatican has released photos of the Pope’s body lying in the chapel at Casa Santa Marta – his residence during his 12-year papacy – dressed in a red robe with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary in his hand.
The general public will be able to visit St Peter’s Basilica from 11:00 to midnight on Wednesday, 07:00 to midnight on Thursday and 07:00 to 19:00 on Friday.
Bucking tradition, there will be no private viewing for cardinals, at Pope Francis’s request. The Pope’s coffin will also not be raised on a pedestal.
Who Is Attending The Funeral?
Huge crowds are anticipated on Saturday, with as many as 250,000 people expected to attend the funeral.
Many heads of state and royals have confirmed their attendance, including Prince William, US President Donald Trump, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Other political figures who have announced they will attend include: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Polish President Andrzej Duda; European Union (EU) Commission President Ursula von der Leyen;
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, Francis’s home country; British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer; and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Where Will Pope Francis Be Buried?
Pope Francis, who famously eschewed some of the pomp of the papacy during his life, will continue to break with tradition in death.
Historically, popes are buried in triple coffins in marble tombs inside St Peter’s Basilica at the heart of the Vatican. Pope Francis requested that he instead be buried at Rome’s Basilica of St Mary Major.
He will become the first pope in more than 100 years to be laid to rest outside the Vatican.
