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Simple coffin, a poignant church, two mile procession & world leaders on guest list… inside the plans for Pope’s funeral

Published on April 22, 2025 at 12:58 PM

AFTER twelve long years serving as the leader of 1.4billion Catholics around the world, Pope Francis' final journey has now begun.

As the , carefully orchestrated plans are underway in the Vatican for his “humble” funeral.

A cardinal and a Swiss Guard stand near an open casket containing the deceased Pope Benedict XVI.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, left, prays in front of the body of Pope Francis laid out in state inside his private chapel at the Vatican
A wake for the Pope in a chapel.
The body of Pope Francis is placed in an open casket during the rite of the declaration of death
Group of cardinals in red robes embracing.
Cardinals are now meeting in the Vatican to decide the date for the Pope's funeral

The pontiff's funeral will take place on Saturday morning in St Peter’s Square, with the service scheduled to begin at 10am local time.

The service will be led by the dean of the College of Cardinals and is expected to draw top world leaders who will join thousands of mourners from across the globe for the historic event.

This includes President and his wife, Melania, as well as Ukrainian President , who have all announced they would attend the pope's funeral.


Key developments in the last 24 hours:

  • Pope Francis' funeral to take place on Saturday at 10am local time
  • The Vaticanin St Mary Major Basilica
  • All cardinals in Rome were summoned to the Apostolic Palace to prepare for the rites
  • The Italian government declared national mourning
  • King Charles
  • Donald Trump confirmed he and Melania will attend the funeral in Rome
  • Brazil’s President Lula declared a seven-day mourning period

Follow ourfor the latest updates


Meanwhile, No10 said that Prime Minister Sir will also attend the Pope’s funeral on Saturday.

European Commission President and European Council President António Costa are also expected to be at the funeral.

Many nations are likelyto send heads of state or government to take part in the historic event.

The ceremony will be celebrated by the cardinals, with Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, leading the service.

He will also deliver the final commendation, the solemn rite that formally entrusts the pope’s soul to God.

To mark the beginning of the last rites, Francis' coffin will be kept at The Chapel of Casa Santa Marta – his Vatican residence – for a moment of prayer.

A funeral procession, expected to be two miles long, will then start heading towards St. Peter’s Basilica, where the last rites will take place.

The procession will pass through the Vatican’s Santa Marta and the First Roman Martyrs Square.

From the Arch of the Bells, it will exit into St. Peter’s Square and enter St. Peter’s Basilica through the central door.

The pope will be kept in the open space of the basilica for thousands of followers to see and pray.

A funeral mass will then be co-celebrated by cardinals and ceremonially dressed senior clerics and other members of the clergy.

Following the funeral, the pope’s body will be moved to the burial site outside the Vatican.

A humble Francis decreed in his will that he would be interred in a simple underground tomb at Santa Maria Maggiore,unlike the previous popes who had been buried inthe crypts beneath St Peter's Basilica.

Francis will be the first pope in more than a hundred years to be buried outside of the Vatican walls.

He also said he had arranged for an unnamed benefactor to cover the costs of the burial.

Emmanuel Macron greeting Pope Francis.
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, shakes hands with Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2018
Pope Francis shaking hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Pope Francis welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Italy
Donald Trump and Pope Francis meeting.
US President Donald Trump and Pope Francis meet at the Vatican in May 2017
Pope Francis and King Charles III shaking hands.
Pope Francis speaks with the then-Prince Charles in October 2019
Pope Francis and Leonardo DiCaprio meeting.
The Pope welcomed Leonardo DiCaprio in 2016

Even the age-oldtradition of preparing three coffins of cypress, lead and oak has been ditched, as desired by Francis during the years before his death.

He will be buried in a simple underground tomb prepared “without particular ornamentation,”; marked only as “Franciscus,”; according to hiswishes.

The Pope’s death has triggered , including the symbolic breaking of his “Fisherman’s Ring”; and lead seal, marking the start of the .

Saturday will mark the first of nine official days of mourning, a traditional period known as novemdiales.

Once this mourning phase concludes, the conclave process to elect the next pope will formally begin.

Tens of thousands of catholics and followers of Pope Francis are expected to attend the events.

Apart from the top world leaders, a slew of celebrities could go to Rome to attend the historic event.

This could include stars like and legend .

Pope Francis .

His death hasplunged 1.4billion Catholics across the globe into mourning.

The pontiff had been hospitalised for weeks at the Gemelli hospital inearlier this year after.

He was discharged on March 23 after the 38-day stay and was .

But just hours later, Vatican officials announced the leader of the Catholic Church had passed away.

The, a death certificate released by the Vatican said.

It came just one day after the Pope appeared in front of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square in what was his first full public appearance since he was discharged from the hospital earlier this year.

It is said that Vatican doctors had advised the pontiff to ease up his schedule and avoid hectic situations, such as meeting a big crowd, to avoid getting an infection.

But the humble clergyman defied his doctors' orders to stay indoors in his last 24 hours and made his final act to meet thousands of his faithful followers and bless them on Easter Sunday.

The crowd shouted and cheered as a frail-looking Francis looped through the square in his open-topped popemobile and then up and down the main avenue leading to it.

He stopped occasionally to bless babies brought up to him, just weeks after fighting for his life.

Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!” Francis said.

Francis didn't celebrate the in the piazza, delegating it to Cardinal Angelo Comastri – the retired archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica.

But after the Mass ended, Francis appeared on the loggia balcony over the basilica entrance for more than 20 minutes and imparted the apostolic blessing in Latin.

The crowd of people below, estimated by theto be more than 35,000, erupted in cheers as a military band kicked off rounds of the Holy See anthem.

‘REFORMER' POPE

Pope Francis made history when he became the first leader of the Catholic Church from the Americas.

The then 76-year-old Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was given his new name after he was elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI on March 13, 2013.

He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936, to Italian immigrants.

The Argentine had worked as a bouncer before turning to the priesthood after recovering from pneumonia back in 1958.

Francis was ordained a priest on 13 December 1969 and trained in Spain for a year before moving back to Argentina.

Francis took over the role of Pope in 2014, and was seen as an outspoken moderniser, reformist and progressive.

He had championed the decriminalisation of homosexuality, warned against threats to democracy, and supported the cause of refugees.

When he became the Pope, he shunned a grand papal apartment and chose to live in a modest two-room residence.

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