The body of the pope, who passed away Monday at the age of 88, has been lying in the state since Wednesday as thousands of mourners are expected to pay their respects.
The funeral of Pope Francis I, the first leader of the Roman Catholic Church, took place on Saturday and was announced on Tuesday.
He was 88 years old and was a leader of the Roman Catholic Church since 2013.
Hours before his death, the Pope appeared on Easter Sunday to celebrate thousands of people at St. Peters Square in Vatican City, delivering his traditional Arbiet Orbi address.
The Holy See presented the Pope’s funeral mass at St. Peter’s Square on Saturday morning.
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The statement continued, “At the end of the Eucharist celebration, the introduction and praise of Ultimo will be made. The co-postle will be taken to St. Peter’s Cathedral and from there to Major St. Mary’s Cathedral for burial.”
The Holy Reference announced that clergy ffin will be in the state from Wednesday to Saturday.
They said that the Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell of Vatican Camerlengo would say prayers on the body, and that would be in a nation where thousands of faithful are expected to submit their past and pay respect.
The Cardinals congregations met at the Vatican on Tuesday and began preparing for the funeral and the conclave to choose the next Pope.
First Asian or African pope?
The early frontrunners were Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines, Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana, and two Italian Cardinals, Pietro Parolin, and Angelo Scola, ages 70 and 83.
The 67-year-old Tagle was the first pope from Asia, and the 76-year-old Turkson became the first African pope.
There is no American cardinal elected to the Pope.
The pope, who removed part of one of his lungs as a young man, experienced a respiratory crisis that developed double pneumonia in February.
He spent 38 days in the hospital before being released, but he remained frail and died on Monday.
The Holy Man said that April 26th was the first day of Novendiali, the Pope’s nine-day mourning period.
Cardinal of College has been exclusively responsible for the election of the next Pope since 1059, and is composed in its current form in 1150.
The faithful gather on April 21, 2025 for prayer for the late Pope Francis’ Rosary in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican in Rome Alessandra Tarantino/AP
The flag is ordered to fly with six staff members from Italy, the US, India and Taiwan.
Several football matches in Argentina, from Italy and the Pope, have been postponed to Monday.
