Roman Catholic cardinals decided on Tuesday that Pope Francis’ funeral will be held on Saturday in St. Peter’s Square, setting the stage for a solemn ceremony that will draw leaders from around the world.
Francis, 88, died on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, 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,a and had appeared to be slowly recovering. Still, the Vatican on Tuesday recounted his last moments, saying death came quickly and he had not suffered.
He started to feel unwell at around 5:30 a.m. on Monday and was promptly attended to by his team. More than an hour later, he made a gesture of farewell to his ever-present nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, and slipped into a coma, the Vatican’s official media channel said.
His time of death was given as 7:35 a.m.
The Vatican released photographs of Francis dressed in his vestments and lying 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 body will be taken into the adjacent St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., in a procession led by cardinals, allowing the faithful to pay their last respects to the first Latin American pope.
His funeral service will be held in St. Peter’s Square, in the shadow of the Basilica, on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals.
US President Donald Trump, who clashed repeatedly with the pope about immigration, said he and his wife would fly to Rome for the service.
Among other heads of state set to attend were Javier Milei, president of Francis’ native Argentina, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to a source in his office.
In a break from tradition, Francis confirmed in his final testament, released on Monday, that he wished to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major and not St. Peter’s, where many of his predecessors were laid to rest.
