World leaders gather for Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome

World leaders gather for Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Emmanuel Macron, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are some of the heads of state expected to attend the solemn ceremony The meticulous Vatican protocol for the funeral of a pontiff was set in motion following the death of Pope Francis on Monday. On Tuesday, the Holy See released a series of official statements signed by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations, outlining the schedule for the coming days. On Wednesday at 9:00 a.

m., the body of the late pontiff was transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica, where he lay in state until 7:00 p.



m. on Friday. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday at 10:00 a.

m. in the basilica’s esplanade — a solemn ceremony that will draw numerous heads of state and government, including the King and Queen of Spain, U.S.

President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Starting Sunday, the countdown begins for the conclave , which will be held the first week of May, on a date yet to be determined. The Vatican on Tuesday released the first images of Francis’s body in an open coffin, placed in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence where the Pope died, in room 201.

He was dressed in a red chasuble, which symbolizes the blood shed by Christ and is usually worn on holidays such as Good Friday or Easter Sunday; a woolen pallium, traditionally sewn by the nuns of the Convent of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere; and a white miter, holding a rosary in his hands. He wore the silver ring he has always worn since he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires . The coffin is simple, made of wood and zinc, at the express request of the Pope, who changed the regulations to simplify the entire funeral ritual.

For that reason, it will not be displayed before the faithful on a catafalque. The public farewell in St. Peter’s Basilica has drawn large crowds, as it did after the death of John Paul II, and served as a last measure of Pope Francis’ popularity.

According to his will, made public on Monday night — though it was already known — Francis’s tomb will be buried “in the earth,” and his coffin will be transferred to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in central Rome. The testament was signed on June 29, 2022, and even then, Pope Francis, who was facing health issues, said he could “sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life.” Soon after his death on Monday, details about Pope Francis’s final hours emerged.

According to Vatican News , after delivering his Sunday blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis considered a final tour of the square in the Popemobile and asked his personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, “Do you think I can manage it?” Strappetti agreed, and the Pope made one last circuit among the faithful. “Thank you for bringing me back to the Square,” he later told Strappetti.

He then had dinner and went to bed. Early Monday morning, at 5:30 a.m.

, he awoke with concerning symptoms that required immediate medical attention. According to reports, he gave Strappetti a final wave goodbye before slipping into a coma and passing away at 7:35 a.m.

“He did not suffer. It all happened quickly,” Vatican News reported, citing sources who were present in the room. At this moment, two movements are underway within the Vatican machinery: one of farewell, looking back, and another of future planning, looking forward.

In this second realm, the cardinals held their first General Congregation on Tuesday morning. Around 60 cardinals attended — those already in Rome — who typically, in these early days, tend to be members of the Curia and Italian clergy. Since that first General Congregation, the College of Cardinals has met daily.

All 252 cardinals were allowed to attend the General Congregation, meaning both those eligible to vote in the conclave — initially 135 — and the 117 over the age of 80 who do not vote. These meetings are of great importance, as the prelates speak and debate freely about the direction they believe the Church should take. The profile of the next pope gradually begins to take shape, and this is often the moment when some cardinals introduce themselves through their speeches.

It’s important to remember that the conclave will include representatives from 71 countries, many of whom have had little interaction with one another and do not know each other well. In the meantime, the first absences from the conclave are already known — something that is common on each occasion, as sick or frail cardinals often choose not to attend. Two have announced they will not travel to Rome, bringing the number of attendees down to 133, and also lowering the two-thirds majority required for papal election , which now drops from 90 to 89.

These are the Spaniard Antonio Cañizares, Archbishop Emeritus of Valencia, and the Bosnian Vinko Puljić, former Archbishop of Sarajevo, both for health reasons. Meanwhile, the conclave is dealing with its first conflict. On Tuesday, Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu insisted he would vote, even though Pope Francis had stripped him of his rights as a cardinal, including the right to participate in a conclave.

A once-powerful member of the Secretariat of State, he was dismissed by the Pope in 2023 due to a financial scandal involving the murky purchase of a luxury building in London, which left a $139 million hole in the Vatican’s accounts. He was later tried by a Vatican court and sentenced to five and a half years in prison — a historic ruling meant to set an example, as it was the first time a cardinal had been prosecuted. He appealed, and the case is still pending.

But supporters of Becciu argue that he has a right to vote. The Vatican press office clarified that “all cardinals” were invited to take part in the general congregations before the conclave, as stated in the dean’s summons. It remains to be seen what Becciu will ultimately do and, above all, what decision the College of Cardinals will make.

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