The funeral service for Pope Francis is happening Saturday morning on the Vatican, after which the late chief of the Catholic Church shall be buried in Rome. Whereas the ceremony is following many traditions developed over centuries of church historical past, there are some particulars uniquely chosen by Pope Francis. Watch the ceremony reside right here on CBS Information, and discover solutions to a few of your questions in regards to the historic occasion beneath.
What time did Pope Francis’ funeral begin?
Pope Francis’s funeral started shortly after 10 a.m. native time (4 a.m. Jap, 1 a.m. Pacific) on the Vatican, outdoors St. Peter’s Basilica. The ceremony is presided over by the dean of the Faculty of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
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The funeral follows the Vatican’s liturgical guide for papal funeral rites, known as the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis. An up to date version of the traditional rites was accredited by Pope Francis final yr, altering some longstanding traditions for papal funerals, together with the kind of coffin used.
The papal funeral is damaged down into three separate phases, or “stations” They’re the preparation of the physique, the viewing of the physique, after which the burial.
It started with music sung by the Sistine Chapel Choir. The primary studying was finished by American Vatican Information journalist, Kielce Gussie.
Who’s attending Pope Francis’ funeral?
Pope Francis’ funeral is being attended by hundreds of members of the general public, in addition to non secular leaders and heads of state from all over the world.
President Donald Trump and first girl Melania Trump are attending, as is former President Joe Biden and his spouse, Dr. Jill Biden.
When Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his spouse Olena Zelenska arrived to take their seats forward of the service, the gathered crowd erupted in applause.
The Vatican mentioned there have been delegations from about 130 nations on the ceremony, with 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs in attendance, together with:
- Britain’s Prince William
- U.Okay. Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- French President Emmanuel Macron
- Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
- United Nations Secretary Basic Antonio Guterres
- EU Fee chief Ursula von der Leyen
- European Council President Antonio Costa
- Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
- Argentina’s President Javier Milei
- Honduras’ President President Xiomara Castro
- Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
- India’s president Droupadi Murmu
- President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera
- President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi
- President of Cape Verde, Jose Maria Neves
Sen. Susan Collins is main a bipartisan delegation of Catholic U.S. senators to attend the pope’s funeral.
The place will Pope Francis be buried?
On the finish of the funeral service, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will ship the ultimate commendation prayer, after which a procession will take the pope’s coffin to the Basilica of St. Mary Main (Santa Maria Maggiore) for burial.
In a break from tradition, Pope Francis has chosen to be buried outdoors the Vatican, within the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Main in Rome, the place he typically went to hope throughout his papacy. Seven earlier popes are buried there, however he would be the first in centuries.
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Many popes have been laid to relaxation contained in the Vatican, within the Vatican grottoes, a system of vaults on the decrease degree of St. Peter’s Basilica — however in his last will and testament, Francis requested a church that had particular which means for him.
“I want that my final earthly journey conclude exactly on this historic Marian sanctuary the place I went for prayer originally and finish of every Apostolic journey to confidently entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mom and thank Her for her docile and maternal care,” Francis mentioned in his will.
“The tomb should be within the earth; easy, with out specific ornament and with the one inscription: Franciscus,” he wrote.
Burial rites shall be led on the website by the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
Amongst people who shall be gathered for the arrival of the pope’s coffin at St. Mary Main are people from communities Pope Francis supported, together with prisoners with particular permission, homeless folks, members of the LGBTQ+ group and victims and survivors of intercourse trafficking, the Vatican mentioned.
When will they select the following pope?
After the funeral, 9 days of mourning will start, known as the Novemdiales.
Eligible cardinals below the age of 80 — presently a gaggle of about 135 — will collect in Rome to arrange for the papal conclave, the centuries-old course of to pick out the next pope. The conclave often begins round two weeks after a pope’s demise, so on this case, doubtless in early Could.
In the course of the conclave, eligible cardinals will isolate themselves and, behind closed doorways within the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, they’ll forged ballots for his or her selection, repeating the method till a candidate receives a two-thirds-plus-one majority. The ballots, that are paper, are burned after every spherical of voting.
If no selection has been reached, the ballots from that spherical ship up black smoke from the chimney as they burn. When a brand new pope is lastly chosen, a cloud of white smoke is distributed as much as sign the momentous information to the world.
contributed to this report.
