Vatican releases photo showing Pope in open coffin
The Vatican has released a photo of Pope Francis in his open coffin, dressed in a red robe with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary in his hand.
The image was taken in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, Francis’s residence at the Vatican.
What’s the latest?
Quick recap of the day so far:
- Cardinals are meeting this morning in the Vatican to decide on the date for Pope Francis’s funeral – the meeting was set to start at 09:00 local time (08:00 BST, 07:00 GMT)
- They’re also expected to decide when the Pope’s body will be moved into St Peter’s Basilica before burial so the public can pay their respects
- Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron told local media that he would attend the Pope’s funeral
- Mourners from around the world continue to flow into St Peter’s Square today
When will Pope’s funeral be?
Cardinals are meeting today for the first time to decide when Pope Francis’s body will be moved to St Peter’s Basilica – and when the funeral will take place.
According to the apostolic constitution, the Universi Dominici Gregis – meaning the Lord’s whole flock – the service should happen “between the fourth and sixth day after death”.
That would put the date of the funeral between Friday 25 April – Liberation Day in Italy, a national holiday – and Sunday 27 April.
Multiple Italian outlets are reporting the service is likely to be scheduled for Saturday, with national news agency Ansa citing Vatican sources.
‘Death is not the end but the start of something’ – Pope Francis
In the last few minutes, multiple Italian outlets have shared an unpublished work Pope Francis wrote shortly before his death.
In the preface of a soon-to-be published book by Cardinal Angelo Scola, the pontiff wrote: “Death is not the end but the start of something.
“It’s a new beginning, as the title [of the book, Waiting for a new beginning. Reflections on old age] wisely suggests because eternal life, which is something those who love life experience on Earth in their everyday occupations, is to start something that will never end.
“And it is precisely for this reason that it is a ‘new’ beginning, because we will experience something that we have never fully experienced: eternity,” he added.
The Pope’s final wishes
In his final testament, Pope Francis expressed his wish to be buried in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.
“I wish my final earthly journey to end precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary, where I would always stop to pray at the beginning and end of every Apostolic Journey,” he said.
The pontiff, who has come to be known for favouring simplicity over pomp, also asked for a tomb “without ornamentation” and with only the inscription “Franciscus”.
On the cost of the burial, the late Pope said it would be covered by a benefactor which he had arranged to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
In pictures: Scenes from Vatican City
Mourners from around the world have been queueing to visit St Peter’s Square in Vatican City this morning.
As we’ve reported, cardinals are set to meet today to decide when the Pope’s body will be moved into St Peter’s Basilica before burial.
Macron says he will attend Pope’s funeral
French President Emmanuel Macron has told local media that he will attend the Pope’s funeral.
We’re set to learn the funeral date today, with cardinals discussing the matter this morning. Dozens of world leaders are expected to attend the funeral, alongside hundreds of thousands of worshippers.
What we can expect from cardinals’ meeting
As we mentioned earlier, cardinals will be meeting this morning to make initial arrangements in preparation for Pope Francis’s funeral, as well as the conclave to select his successor.
The apostolic constitution sets out the “more urgent” decisions the clerics will need to make during this first summit, including:
- When the Pope’s body will be moved to St Peter’s Basilica to be exposed “for the homage of the faithful”
- The date and time of the funeral – which should take place “between the fourth and sixth day after death”
- Where the 135 Cardinals travelling to the Vatican to take part in the conclave will be lodged – usually the House of St Martha
- Which two ecclesiastics will present “two well-prepared meditations” on which problems are currently facing the Catholic Church and what considerations should be taken when selecting the next Pope
- Discuss funeral expenses as well as read any document Francis left behind for the cardinals
- When the conclave will be held – normally between 15 and 20 days after the death of the pontiff
Mass held at Pope Francis’s home church in Argentina
The Archbishop of Buenos Aries, Jorge Garcia, pays tribute to the late pope and calls for Argentine unity.
What comes next published
As the world continues to mourn the death of Pope Francis, cardinals are set to meet at 9:00 local time (8:00 BST. 07:00 GMT) in the Vatican to decide the date for his funeral.
The meeting marks a first of a series of “general congregations”. Cardinals are expected to decide when the Pope’s body will be moved into St Peter’s Basilica before burial so the public can pay their respect.
The Vatican had earlier on Monday said this transfer could happen as early as Wednesday morning.
There will be nine days of official mourning, with the funeral and burial typically happening between the fourth and sixth days after his death.
Filipinos mourn ‘Grandpa Francis’
They called him Lolo Kiko, or Grandpa Francis, and many Filipinos have described themselves as feeling like orphans after his death.
All popes have rock-star status in the Philippines, where an intense and colourful Roman Catholic faith is woven into the fabric of society. With his informal, down-to-earth manner and forthright pleas for justice, Pope Francis won particular affection among those in the Philippines who still live in eye-watering poverty.
Six million attended the open-air mass he held in Manila during his visit 10 years ago, the largest congregation ever recorded by the Vatican.
As well as mourning a much-loved pontiff Filipinos are also closely watching the choice of his successor.
One of their own, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is widely considered a front-runner. If chosen he would be the first Asian pope, and only the second, after Pope Francis, to come from the global south.
SUMMARY:
if you’re just joining us now, here’s a quick look at what is going on:
- Later today, cardinals will meet in the Vatican to decide when the Pope’s body will be moved to St Peter’s Basilica
- US president Donald Trump has confirmed he will attend the Pope’s funeral
- Tributes to Pope Francis have continued to flood in from around the world, including from the leaders of Indonesia, Thailand and Australia
- Election campaigning in Australia was briefly paused this morning to mark the Pope’s death
- Many countries are flying flags at half-mast in honour of the Pope
Pope practiced ‘life of peace’, says Korea’s acting president
South Korea’s acting president, Han Duck-Soo, said that the Pope had “practiced a life of peace and reconciliation” and “delivered a message of love and solidarity to mankind through teaching that ‘we are all brothers and sisters’.”
Just over one in ten people in South Korea is a practicing Catholic.
The unprecedented prominence Pope Francis gave to environmental issuespublished at 04:4604:46
Danny Aeberhard
Europe analyst, BBC World Service
When Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose “Francis” as his papal name, it seemed a perfect fit. No previous pope had chosen to name themselves after the medieval mendicant friar, Francis of Assisi.
But, as well as being a patron saint of the poor, he was also the patron saint of ecology. Pope Francis spoke out and gave unprecedented prominence on environmental issues.
In 2015, months before a landmark UN climate conference in Paris, he published the papal encyclical which drew powerful scientific and moral arguments on the need to care for Earth – and of the urgency to fight global warming.
The effects of global warming on people – primarily the poor – and biodiversity were devastating. And the rich world bore a disproportionate share of the blame
Later in his papacy, Francis said the world’s climate was nearing “breaking point”. He called for an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels towards renewables.
The Pope denounced consumerism – the throwaway culture – and a system of plundering the Earth’s resources that prioritised short-term gain and private interests.
The question he posed: what kind of world do we want to leave our children?
China yet to comment on Pope’s death
China is yet to make an official statement about the Pope’s death.
The relationship between the Vatican and China has long been a testy one. The issue of who appoints bishops has been at the heart of a dispute since China first broke off diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1951.
Beijing has long insisted that the state must approve the appointment of bishops in China, contrary to the Catholic Church’s insistence that it is a papal decision.
But in 2018, both parties agreed on a historic deal, allowing Beijing some control over which bishops are appointed in the country. This was extended in November last year.
At the time, the Vatican said it remained dedicated to “respectful and constructive dialogue” with Beijing.
But Human Rights Watch said the extension of the deal was tantamount to the Vatican “endorsing the Chinese government’s perversion of religions”. China’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, but in practice, religious activities are tightly controlled.
Former Bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, who was arrested under the Beijing-imposed national security law in 2022, had in 2018 said the deal constituted the Vatican “selling out” the Catholic Church in China.
A ‘wayward Catholic’ changed by the pope – Maria Ressa
A ‘wayward Catholic’ changed by the pope – Maria Ressa
Filipina journalist Maria Ressa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for her press freedom advocacy in the Philippines, described herself as a “wayward Catholic” who was “absolutely” changed by Pope Francis.
She recalled the times she had met the pope during events organised by his Fratelli tutti Foundation. She had been looking forward to their gathering again this year “because it was nourishing not just for the mind, it was nourishing for the soul”.
“Pope Francis, despite the scrutiny of journalism, chose me, chose a journalist to be the first speaker. And I was probably far more political than he would have wanted, but there I was in that same space,” she said of her attendance at the Jubilee of the World of Communications held at the Vatican in January.
“And as the church now finds the next Pope, I hope that it’s able to keep this kind of progressive bent”.
What happens on Tuesday?
Cardinals will meet on Tuesday to plan a funeral for Pope Francis – those who are currently in Rome have been invited to meet at 09:00 local time (08:00 BST) on Tuesday morning for the planning.
At this meeting they are expected to decide when the Pope’s body will be moved into St Peter’s Basilica before burial so the public can pay their respects. The Vatican had earlier on Monday said this transfer could happen as early as Wednesday morning.
Pope Francis’s death triggers nine days of official mourning, called the Novendiales, with the funeral and burial typically happening between the fourth and sixth days after his death.
Pope ‘opened the floodgates of something people wanted to keep in the dark’
Pope Francis came to the papacy at a time when the Catholic Church was dealing with a reckoning over longstanding allegations of sexual abuse, which lingers to this day.
Juan Carlos Cruz Chellew, a survivor of abuse by a cleric in Chile, told BBC Newshour that Pope Francis was one of the few people in the church willing to listen to him.
Cruz spent a week with the Pope in the Vatican’s Santa Marta guesthouse, where the pair forged a friendship over long conversations.
“He and I talked long hours about the situation and ever since, he started changing the attitude towards sexual abuse in the church,” Cruz said, adding that their encounter made a “180 degree change” on him.
All 34 of Chile’s bishops offered their resignations to the Pope after an emergency summit at the Vatican over the scandal – and the Pope accepted seven of them and later defrocked two other bishops and a priest.
“There’s still so much to do, but I feel Pope Francis opened the floodgates of something that people wanted to keep in the dark,” Cruz said.
“I’m really sad and I’m going to miss him a lot.”
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
