POPE Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, at the age of 88, triggering an extensive checklist of preparations not just to select his successor via conclave, but also for the late pontiff’s funeral rites, which are expected to be more simplified and scaled down.
On Nov. 20, 2024, the Holy See announced that the Supreme Pontiff has decided to do away with the centuries-old tradition of being interred in three coffins — made of cypress, lead, and oak — and placed on an elevated bier in St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing.
Monsignor Diego Ravelli, the Vatican’s master of liturgical ceremonies, said Francis’s decision “seeks to emphasize 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 late pontiff’s remains will still be publicly displayed at St. Peter’s Basilica for three days, but will be enclosed in a simple, wooden casket.
His body will be dressed in red liturgical robes, white mitre, and the pallium woolen stole. The papal fisherman’s ring will be removed from his finger and broken with a hammer. A white cloth will be placed over the Pope’s face.
Another major difference in Pope Francis’s burial is that his remains will be laid to rest at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome’s Esquilino neighborhood. Traditionally, the remains of the first pope and many of his successors were buried at the grottoes beneath St. Peter’s.
A Jesuit, Pope Francis had been known for his simplicity, notably dropping the crimson fur “mozzetta” or cape and opting for simple white cassock, and choosing to wear a silver-plated cross instead of the more common gold hardware.
His funeral rites will begin within four to six days after his death and will last nine days, though the exact dates have yet to be decided by the cardinals as of posting time.
During the sede vacante, or “vacant seat” period, the camerlengo — Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell — will temporarily oversee the 1.4-billion-strong Roman Catholic Church until a new pope is elected.
The camerlengo is also tasked with leading the sealing of the coffin in the presence of senior cardinals, and the funeral procession.
Pope Francis’s passing marks the end of one papacy and the beginning of the next. The College of Cardinals — composed of 240 members, 138 of whom are eligible to vote — will enter the papal conclave in the Sistine Chapel 15 to 20 days after his death to elect his successor.
Before his death, Pope Francis was hospitalized for over a month from Feb. 14 to March 23 due to bronchitis and double pneumonia, his most serious health crisis in recent years. His condition had become critical amid intensive care, including oxygen therapy and blood transfusions.
Pope Francis spent the final hours of his life before the faithful gathered at St. Peter’s Basilica on Easter Sunday, when he delivered his Urbi et Orbi (to the city of Rome and to the world) blessing from the balcony while in a wheelchair.
Days before on Maundy Thursday, the pope even visited Rome’s Regina Coeli prison.
