Funeral to take place on Saturday, the Vatican confirms
The Vatican has just confirmed that Pope Francis’s funeral will be held on Saturday at 10am local time, Reuters reported.
According to a short statement, the funeral liturgy in St Peter’s square will be presided by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals.
Following the liturgy, the coffin will be taken into St Peter’s Basilica, and then to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial, as requested by Francis.
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Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore – in pictures
As per Francis’s wishes, he will be buried in Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood, breaking with longstanding Vatican tradition.
Popes are usually buried with much fanfare in the grottoes beneath St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, but Francis – loved by many Catholics for his humility – simplified rites for papal funerals last year.
The procession of his coffin from the Vatican to Esquilino, a journey of two or three miles through central Rome, would require the Vatican’s Swiss Guards.
Here are some pictures of the Basilica:
UK prime minister Keir Starmer is the latest national leader to confirm his plans to attend the funeral on Saturday.
Italy declares five day of mourning after pope’s death
The Italian government has declared five days of mourning after pope’s death, a decision made at this morning’s meeting of the ministers.
The period of mourning will last until Saturday, the day of the funeral.
What we know about the funeral so far – summary
Angela Giuffrida
If you are joining us now, the funeral of Pope Francis will be held on Saturday at St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican has said.
The mass will begin at 10am local time and will be led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the college of cardinals.
The Vatican also said the pope’s coffin would be taken to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday at 9am, where it will remain until the night before the funeral, to allow the public to pay their respects.
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Outgoing German chancellor Olaf Scholz is the latest national leader to confirm his plans to attend the funeral on Saturday.
Polish president Andrzej Duda will also attend and proposed to declare a day of national mourning on Saturday, the day of the funeral.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to attend the funeral, with the Italian media reporting that she cancelled her pre-planned engagements in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan this weekend to stay in Rome.
No Putin, but Argentina’s Milei, Brazil’s Lula, and EU’s von der Leyen to attend funeral
Speaking about the guest list for the funeral this Saturday, the Kremlin has just confirmed that Russian president Vladimir Putin will not attend the service.
But we have had more confirmations on top of Trump, Macron and Zelenskyy that I reported on earlier, with Argentinian president Javier Milei, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen among those saying they plan to attend.
Vatican power struggle: will an ‘anti-Francis’ pope emerge from conclave?
The death of Pope Francis will throw into sharp relief the internecine power struggle that has been a hallmark of his papacy.
In the coming days, a ferocious battle for the future of the church will be played out with the highest of stakes within the sanctity of the Sistine Chapel.
There are more than 250 cardinals in total, but those over the age of 80 are ineligible to take part in the conclave. That leaves 135 eligible cardinals, who will begin making their way to Rome in the coming days.
In the 12 years after Francis became pope, he appointed about 110 of those eligible, casting his net wide across the globe. Some Vatican observers have suggested he stacked the conclave in favour of a successor likely to embrace his outlook and continue his work.
The appointments make it “difficult for an ‘anti-Francis’ pope to emerge”, said Iacopo Scaramuzzi, a Vatican journalist with La Repubblica newspaper and author of the book Tango Vaticano. La Chiesa al Tempo di Francesco (Vatican Tango. The Church in the Time of Francis).
“But it doesn’t mean this group is unanimous and cohesive, or that they have the same ideas. Almost all the cardinals he has chosen are pastors from great dioceses around the world.” There were conservatives as well as progressives among them, Scaramuzzi added.
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Details of coffin procession on Wednesday
The ceremony of moving the coffin from Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica will start 9am local time on Wednesday, a note from the Vatican spelling out the details of the operation said.
After a moment of prayer, the procession will pass through Piazza Santa Marta and Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani, exit into St. Peter’s Square and enter the Basilica through the central door.
After the liturgy in the Basilica, pilgrims from around the world will be allowed to visit to pay their last tributes to Francis.
The prayers and the liturgy will be led by Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the church, who announced Francis’s death on Monday.
China’s foreign ministry expressed condolences over the death of Pope Francis, but said it had no information to share on who might attend the funeral, Reuters reported.
China and the Vatican have in recent years maintained constructive contact and carried out beneficial exchanges, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular news briefing in Beijing.
