As the world mourns Pope Francis, who died April 21 at age 88 of a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Catholic Church is fulfilling a series of centuries-old rites – and prepare for the selection of a new pope.
The death of a pope is solemnly observed in a nine-day mourning period known as Novemdiales, along with time-honored rituals from certification of death to burial. Francis wanted his burial ritual simplified, with less opulence, in keeping with his view that the church should serve the poor.
Though Francis made changes to the “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis,” the church’s book on funeral rites for popes, the three stations, or main moments, of the procedure remain the same. The stations are based on where they occur:
- Station One: The home of the pope.
- Station Two: St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
- Station Three: The pope’s burial site.
World leaders, including President Donald Trump, will join the public in saying farewell. Here’s what’s happened and what will happen.
Station One | Who certifies the pope’s death?
For Francis, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, the church camerlengo, or cardinal chamberlain (the official that manages the household of the pope), presided over the certification of death and the placement of the body in a coffin. Farrell is considered one of the pope’s most trusted assistants.
Confirmation of death was carried out in the ground floor chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, a building next to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, on the evening of April 21. The building contains the chapel and Francis’ chambers, a bedroom and study.
After a ceremony, the body is dressed in a white cassock – a long robe with 33 buttons, one for each year of the earthly life of Jesus. It is then placed in a zinc-lined wood coffin in the chapel.
Francis lived at Casa Santa Marta because he thought the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, the traditional papal residence, was too big and ostentatious.
The cardinal also secured and sealed the pope’s rooms and their contents. Seals were placed on the doors of the papal apartment and Apostolic Palace.
Why is the symbolic Papal Ring destroyed?
Witnesses observe the destruction of the pope’s Papal Ring, also known as the Fisherman’s Ring. The ring, a highly symbolic piece of jewelry, is presented to the pope at his inauguration and is part of the pope’s regalia, or the emblems or insignia of the office.
Francis, like other popes, wore it on the ring finger of his right hand. A new ring will be forged for the next pope.
Papal rings were once used as seals for official documents. That ended when stamps were introduced in 1842. Like those of other popes, Francis’ ring has an image of St. Peter the apostle and Francis’ own name. Rings are usually made of gold, but Francis had a ring of gold-plated silver.
As the College of Cardinals watch, Farrell will destroy the ring with a special hammer, symbolizing the end of Francis’ reign. It’s not known exactly how he will destroy it. A chisel was used, for example, to mark a cross on the ring of Pope Benedict XVI.
More: Pope Francis’ final hours, last words revealed as Vatican shares details: Live updates
Station Two | Where will the public view Pope Francis?
The pope’s body is prepared to lie in state. The body is dressed in red papal vestments, along with a bishop’s mitre and pallium, a white wool scarf-like band that symbolizes papal authority.
A procession will take the pope’s body from Saint Martha’s Square to St. Peter’s Basilica starting at 9 a.m. local time April 23. After a short ceremony, the church will open to the public.
- Wednesday: 11 a.m. to midnight
- Thursday: 7 a.m. to midnight
- Friday: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The coffin will be on the church floor facing the pews instead of on an elevated platform.
What type of coffin will the pope be buried in?
Francis’ coffin, as with his choice of burial site, breaks with papal tradition. Instead of being buried in three coffins, each made of cypress, lead and elm and placed inside the other, his coffin will be wooden and lined with zinc.
The pope’s coffin is shaped like a tapered hexagonal, or octagonal box. It it wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, resembling a human body.
When is the pope’s funeral service?
On the night before the funeral, the pope’s body is blessed with holy water and a white silk cloth is placed over his face. A small purse with coins minted during his 12-year reign is placed in the coffin, along with a metal tube containing documents and a papal biography. The coffin is then sealed.
The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. April 26 in St. Peter’s Square. Cardinal Giovanni Battista, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead the proceedings.
Station Three | Where will the pope be buried?
In accordance with his wishes, Francis will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.
Traditionally, popes are interred at St. Peter’s Basilica. Francis will be buried at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, which is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. It’s the church where Francis traditionally went to pray before and after his foreign trips.
SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; Catholic News Agency; Vatican News; vatican.com; National Catholic Reporter; OSV News
