April 22 (UPI) — The funeral of the late Pope Francis will take place in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday morning, with his body lying in state for three days in the run-up to the mass, the Vatican said Tuesday.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside at the funeral of Francis, who died Monday at age 88, assisted by patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests from across the Catholic global community, the Vatican said in a news release.
Many world leaders, their representatives and other dignitaries are expected to travel to Rome for the funeral, which is expected to be watched by a global audience of millions.
U.S. President Donald Trump has already confirmed he will attend along with first lady Melania Trump
Afterward, in a break with papal tradition in line with his wishes, Francis will be interred in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome’s Esquiline district instead of St. Peter’s Basilica, with nine days of official mourning to begin immediately upon the conclusion of the funeral mass.
Before that Wednesday morning, Francis’ coffin will be carried in a procession from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, the building where he resided, to St. Peter’s Basilica, where his open coffin will be displayed for the faithful to pay their last respects.
A papal conclave of the College of Cardinals will convene to select a new pontiff in 15 to 20 days with speculation already mounting over whether the cardinals will pick a continuity candidate who will advance Francis’ progressive, modernist approach, or even the church’s first Black or Asian head.
Given that a large proportion of the college was appointed by Francis — himself the first non-European pope in modern times — there is a strong likelihood that shift away from the church’s Eurocentric focus under Francis will continue.
The Vatican confirmed that Francis died of a stroke and heart failure at home in his official residence in the Vatican on Monday morning, a month after being released from the hospital where he spent five weeks being treated for double pneumonia.
He had defied doctors’ orders to greet a huge Easter Sunday gathering of Catholics in St. Peter’s Square in order not to disappoint the faithful.
One of the last people outside of Francis’ inner circle to meet him was U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who was granted a short audience Sunday afternoon to exchange Easter greetings.
Reacting to Francis’ death, Vance said in a post on X on Monday that his “heart went out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.”
“I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him.”
Vance also met separately with senior Vatican officials. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, was on a trip to Italy to discuss tariffs.
