The Vatican has announced that the funeral of the late Pope Francis will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. The funeral mass will adhere to the simplified rules established by the Vatican last year, specifically the Rite of Burial for the Roman Pontiff, which was approved by Pope Francis himself.
Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday at his residence in Casa Santa Marta within Vatican City. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead the funeral service, attended by the 252 cardinals known as the “princes of the church.”
Following the mass, the coffin will be transported to St. Peter’s Basilica, named after the first pope, and then to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where Pope Francis requested to be buried.
This funeral will be notably modest, reflecting Pope Francis’s wishes to simplify traditional rituals. The process of selecting a new pope is expected to take several weeks.
In response to the pope’s death, Catholics worldwide have entered official mourning periods, with memorial services and flags being flown at half-staff in various countries, including Australia, Japan, Britain, Italy, and Lebanon. President Donald Trump has ordered American flags to be flown at half-mast at all government buildings until the burial.
