Pope Francis‘ funeral has been scheduled for 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. EDT) on Saturday at St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican announced Tuesday, following a meeting of the College of Cardinals at the Catholic Church’s city-state headquarters in the heart of Rome.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis’ spiritual testament, dated 29 June 2022, has been published, giving indications for his burial in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
The coffin carrying the pope, who died Monday morning after suffering a stroke and heart failure at the age of 88, will be brought in a procession Wednesday morning, accompanied by cardinals, to St. Peter’s from his residence at Casa Santa Marta, where he died.
The pope’s body was laid to rest Monday in a coffin in the chapel of his Santa Marta residence. The Vatican released the first photos and video on Tuesday of Francis in his coffin, wearing a red robe with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary intertwined in his hands.
The images showed cardinals and other church officials performing what the Vatican said was the formal Confirmation of the Pope’s Death and praying over his body.
The interim administrator of the Vatican, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, an Irish-American who will play a major role in the funeral and subsequent conclave events in the coming weeks, will preside over the procession and the ritual transfer of the pope’s body to St. Peter’s.
The pontiff will lie in state ahead of his funeral at the basilica from Wednesday morning, the Vatican said. The funeral will be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re.
The papal funeral is broken down into three separate phases, or “stations.” They are the preparation of the body, the viewing of the body, and then the burial.
Who will come to Pope Francis’ funeral?
The funeral at St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday will draw “Patriarchs, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and priests from across the globe,” the Vatican said. It will also be attended by a number of world leaders and other dignitaries.
The pope’s coffin will be carried through the 500-year-old basilica’s so-called “door of death” to the left of the main altar, and a single bell will toll.
President Trump said Monday that he and first lady Melania would attend, as did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and France’s Emmanuel Macron.
China’s government indicated Tuesday that no decisions had been made regarding which officials might attend the service at the Vatican.
What happens after Pope Francis’ funeral?
After the funeral Mass at St. Peter’s, Pope Francis’ coffin will be taken to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, where he will be entombed. The pope chose to be buried at the smaller basilica, which is about four miles away, outside the Vatican walls. He prayed at St. Mary’s often, before and after international trips during his 12-year pontificate.
Between 15 and 20 days after the pope’s death, the Cardinal Electors will gather at the Vatican and seal themselves off from the world behind closed doors for the papal conclave, the centuries-old process of choosing the next pope.
Only cardinals under the age of 80 — currently a group of about 135 — are eligible to vote in a conclave.
Inside the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, the cardinals will cast ballots for their choice to lead the church, repeating the process until a candidate emerges with a two-thirds-plus-one majority. The paper ballots are burned after each round of voting, sending up black smoke to signal no choice has been reached yet, and finally white smoke to reveal that a new pope has been selected.
Meanwhile, the full details of Pope Francis’ spiritual testament, dated 29 June 2022 which he simply signed Francis is below:
Miserando atque Eligendo
In the name of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial.
Throughout my life, and during my ministry as a priest and bishop, I have always entrusted myself to the Mother of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary. For this reason, I ask that my mortal remains rest – awaiting the day of the Resurrection – in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
I wish my final earthly journey to end precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary, where I would always stop to pray at the beginning and end of every Apostolic Journey, confidently entrusting my intentions to the Immaculate Mother, and giving thanks for her gentle and maternal care.
I ask that my tomb be prepared in the burial niche in the side aisle between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the Basilica, as shown in the attached plan.
The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.
The cost of preparing the burial will be covered by a sum provided by a benefactor, which I have arranged to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. I have given the necessary instructions regarding this to Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Liberian Basilica.
May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me. The suffering that has marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and for fraternity among peoples.
Santa Marta, 29 June 2022
FRANCIS
Pictures, and reports Courtesy of Vatican News