So many mourners lined up to see Pope Francis lying in state in a simple wooden coffin inside St. Peter’s Basilica that the Vatican kept the doors open all night due to higher-than-expected turnout, closing the basilica for just an hour and a half Thursday morning for cleaning. By 7 o’clock on Thursday evening, April 24, more than 90,000 people from many nations had already paid their final respects.
Countless thousands more remain in line, waiting to express their love and respect for the deceased pope. They will be able to do so until 8 o’clock on Friday night, April 25, when Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo (chamberlain) will preside over the rite of the closing of the coffin. On Saturday morning, the pallbearers will carry the coffin out of the basilica and place it in front of the altar in St. Peter’s Square, where the requiem Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.
Official state delegations from some 130 countries are arriving in Rome for the funeral Mass, including no less than 50 heads of state or government. President Donald J. Trump and his wife, Melania, will arrive tomorrow evening, by which time the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, the Philippines, Poland, Ukraine and other countries will have arrived, as well as Prime Minister Keith Starmer of the United Kingdom. Leading members of the royal families from 10 countries, including Belgium, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Monaco will also be present.
When Francis was elected pope, he wanted the world to know that the poor had a preferential place in his ministry, and he insisted that they should be represented at the Mass for the inauguration of his Petrine ministry on March 19, 2013, in St. Peter’s Square. For this reason, he invited Sergio Sánchez, the leader of the cartoneros (garbage pickers) from Buenos Aires to attend and assigned him a front place seat at the Mass. America has learned that at the funeral Mass for Pope Francis on Saturday, April 26, Mr. Sánchez will again be present.
Moreover, the Vatican informed the accredited media today that the poor will be among the last people to see Pope Francis’ coffin before it is taken for burial because “the poor have a privileged place in God’s heart” and “also in the heart and in the Magisterium of the Holy Father, who had chosen the name Francis so as never to forget them.” The Vatican said that “a group of poor and needy people will be present on the steps leading to the papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major to pay their last respects to Pope Francis before the burial of the coffin.”
According to the Italian media, some 250,000 people from around the world are expected to be present at the funeral Mass, amid extraordinarily tight security measures. Security will be ensured by 11,000 members of the military and police.
Immediately after the Mass, the pope’s coffin will be taken in a motorcade across the city, accompanied by a small number of cardinals, to his chosen place of final rest in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
On Thursday, April 24, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the pope’s passing in a post on X, stating: “The State of Israel expresses its deepest condolences to the Catholic Church and the Catholic community worldwide at the passing of Pope Francis. May he rest in peace.” The brief post came after days of silence, which the Italian press reported upset many people, including members of the Jewish community, in Rome. The relationship between Francis and the Netanyahu government became strained in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. The late pope frequently called for the release of hostages, the provision of humanitarian aid in Gaza and an immediate cease-fire and advocated a two-state solution as the way to peace in the Holy Land.
Just hours after the pope’s death, the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, described Francis as “a man of deep faith and boundless compassion, who dedicated his life to uplifting the poor and invoking peace in a troubled world. Rightfully, he placed great importance on strengthening ties with the Jewish world and promoting interreligious dialogue as a path toward greater understanding and mutual respect.”
Apart from the state delegations coming to the funeral, much attention is being given to the cardinals flocking to the Vatican. Various sources calculate that just under 50 percent of the 252 living cardinals have already arrived in Rome, and 113 cardinals participated in the pre-conclave general congregation of cardinals this morning. Sources reckon that less than half of the 135 electors—that is, cardinals under the age of 80 with a right to vote in the conclave to elect the next pope—have arrived.
According to the constitution for the election, the conclave cannot start until 15 days have passed since the death of the pope to allow time for all the electors to arrive, but it must start once 20 days have passed. This means it is not expected to start before May 5, but it must start on or immediately after May 10.
The Vatican said that this morning, the cardinals shared in their third meeting “reflections on the church and the world.” Following the rules laid down by the constitution for the election of the pope, they also chose two clerics to deliver meditations to the cardinals. They decided that Dom Donato Ogliari, O.S.B., the Benedictine abbot of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls will give the first meditation at the general congregations next week, and that Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M.Cap., will deliver the second one in the Sistine Chapel at the start of the conclave, just before the cardinals cast their first vote.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
