Vatican releases pictures of Pope Francis in open casket, confirms funeral will be on Saturday
The world is mourning Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday aged 88 from a cerebral stroke and subsequent heart failure.
Cardinals are meeting to plan the pontiff's funeral, which will be held on Saturday.
Pope Francis's funeral will take place outdoors in front of St Peter's Basilica.
The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, will lead the service.
At the end of the funeral, Re will deliver the final commendation - a concluding prayer where the Pope will be formally entrusted to God - and the body moved to St Mary Major for the burial.
Pope to be taken to St Peter's Basilica on Wednesday - Vatican
Pope Francis will be taken to St Peter's Basilica on Wednesday morning at 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT), the Vatican has announced.
The Pope's coffin will be there until the burial for the public to pay their respects.
The Holy See Press Office announced on Tuesday that Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, April 26, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside at the Mass, which will be concelebrated by Patriarchs, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and priests from across the globe.
The Eucharistic celebration will conclude with the Ultima commendatio and the Valedictio, marking the beginning of the Novemdiales, or nine days of mourning and Masses for the repose of Pope Francis' soul.
The late Pope's body will then be taken into St. Peter’s Basilica and then to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for entombment.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the coffin containing the Pope’s body will be carried from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica, so that the faithful may pay their respects.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will preside over the rite of translation on April 23, which will begin at 9:00 AM with a moment of prayer.
The procession will pass through Santa Marta Square and the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs, according to the Holy See Press Office.
The procession will then exit through the Arch of the Bells into St. Peter’s Square and enter the Vatican Basilica through the central door.
At the Altar of the Confession, the Cardinal Camerlengo will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, at the conclusion of which the visits to the body of the Roman Pontiff will commence.
Cardinals meet after death of Pope Francis, plan for funeral
Cardinals gathered at the Vatican on Tuesday to plan Pope Francis' funeral, which leaders from around the world will attend ahead of a conclave next month to elect a new head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Francis, 88, died unexpectedly on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he repeatedly clashed with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalised.
The pontiff spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year suffering from double pneumonia. But he returned to the Vatican almost a month ago and had seemed to be recovering, appearing in St. Peter's Square on Easter Sunday.
The Vatican on Tuesday released photographs of Francis dressed in his vestments and laid in a wooden coffin in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, where he lived during his 12-year papacy. Swiss Guards stand on either side of the casket.
His sudden death set in motion ancient rituals, as the 1.4-billion-member Church started the transition from one pope to another, including the breaking of the pope's "Fisherman's Ring" and lead seal, used in his lifetime to seal documents, so they cannot be used by anyone else.
All cardinals currently in Rome were invited to meet at the Vatican at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT), where they were expected to make funeral plans.
"We are now called on to discuss the organisation. We'll see what comes next," said Italian Cardinal Fernando Filoni as he entered the first Congregation of Cardinals at the Vatican.
"The most important thing is prayer. Let us accompany the pope with our prayers," Filoni told reporters.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who clashed repeatedly with the pope about immigration, said he and his wife would fly to Rome for his funeral. Among other heads of state set to attend were Javier Milei, president of Francis' native Argentina and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to a source in his office.
The Vatican has said it expected the ceremony to take place on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
With additional files from Reuters
