Daijiworld Media Network - Vatican City
Vatican City, Apr 22: Pope Francis, the 88-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church who passed away on Easter Monday, will lie in state at St Peter’s Basilica until his funeral on Saturday at 10 am, the Holy See's Press Office announced on Tuesday.
In accordance with the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, the coffin bearing the mortal remains of Pope Francis will be moved from the Chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae to the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter on Wednesday morning.
The transfer will take place following a moment of prayer presided over by His Eminence Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.
“The procession will cross Piazza Santa Marta and Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani; from the Arco delle Campane it will enter Saint Peter’s Square and proceed through the central door into the Vatican Basilica,” the statement from the universal government of the Catholic Church said. “At the Altar of the Confessio, the Cardinal Camerlengo will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, after which the faithful will be allowed to pay their final respects.”
The funeral Mass for the late Pontiff will be held on the parvis of St Peter’s Basilica on Saturday morning, marking the beginning of the Novendiali a traditional nine-day period of mourning and prayer. The liturgy will be held in line with the updated papal funeral rites approved by Pope Francis himself in April 2024.
The funeral will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, and concelebrated by patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests from around the world, according to the Vatican Press Office.
“At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, the Ultimo commendatio and Valedictio will take place. The coffin of the Roman Pontiff will then be taken into Saint Peter’s Basilica and subsequently transferred to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major for burial,” it stated.
Pope Francis had previously requested that his funeral be kept simple and spiritually focused. ‘The renewed rite,’ explained Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of apostolic ceremonies, “seeks to emphasise even more that the funeral of the Roman Pontiff is that of a pastor and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful person of this world.”
The second edition of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, which will guide the proceedings, introduces several changes. Among them is the revised protocol that the Pope’s death be formally ascertained in the chapel rather than in the room of his passing, and that his body be immediately placed in the coffin.
The death of the Supreme Pontiff was officially announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell at 9:45 am on Monday, from the Pope’s residence at Casa Santa Marta.
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father,” he declared.
“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalised. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”
The Holy Father had been ailing for some time and was suffering from respiratory complications and pneumonia prior to his passing.
Pope Francis’ death has triggered a period of mourning across the global Catholic community, as preparations are underway for a farewell befitting a shepherd who sought to serve the Church with humility, compassion, and reform.