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The ceremonial work for Pope Francis is taking spot Saturday greeting astatine the Vatican, aft which the precocious person of the Catholic Church volition beryllium buried successful Rome. While the ceremonial volition travel galore traditions developed implicit centuries of religion history, determination volition besides beryllium immoderate details uniquely chosen by Pope Francis. Watch the ceremony unrecorded present connected CBS News, and find answers to immoderate of your questions astir the historical lawsuit below.
What clip volition Pope Francis' ceremonial start?
Pope Francis's ceremonial begins astatine 10 a.m. section clip (4 a.m. Eastern, 1 a.m. Pacific) astatine the Vatican, extracurricular St. Peter's Basilica. The ceremonial is presided implicit by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
The ceremonial follows the Vatican's liturgical publication for papal ceremonial rites, called the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis. An updated variation of the past rites was approved by Pope Francis past year, changing immoderate longstanding traditions for papal funerals, including the benignant of coffin used.
The papal funeral is breached down into 3 abstracted phases, oregon "stations" They are the preparation of the body, the viewing of the body, and past the burial.
Who is attending Pope Francis' funeral?
Pope Francis' ceremonial is being attended by thousands of members of the public, arsenic good arsenic spiritual leaders and heads of authorities from astir the world.
President Donald Trump and archetypal woman Melania Trump volition beryllium attending, arsenic volition former President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden.
The Vatican says determination volition beryllium delegations from astir 130 countries, including 50 heads of authorities and 10 reigning monarchs successful attendance, including:
- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his woman Olena Zelenska
- Britain's Prince William
- U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- French President Emmanuel Macron
- Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
- United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres
- EU Commission main Ursula von der Leyen
- European Council President Antonio Costa
- Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
- Argentina's President Javier Milei
- Honduras' President President Xiomara Castro
- Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
- India's president Droupadi Murmu
- President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera
- President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi
- President of Cape Verde, Jose Maria Neves
Sen. Susan Collins is starring a bipartisan delegation of Catholic U.S. senators to be the pope's funeral.
Where volition Pope Francis beryllium buried?
At the extremity of the ceremonial service, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re volition present the last commendation prayer, and past a procession volition instrumentality the pope's coffin to the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) for burial.
In a break from tradition, Pope Francis has chosen to beryllium buried extracurricular the Vatican, successful the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major successful Rome, wherever helium often went to commune during his papacy. Seven earlier popes are buried there, but helium volition beryllium the archetypal successful centuries.
A presumption of the Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major) Basilica successful Rome connected April 24, 2025.
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Many popes person been laid to remainder wrong the Vatican, successful the Vatican grottoes, a strategy of vaults connected the little level of St. Peter's Basilica — but successful his past volition and testament, Francis requested a religion that had peculiar meaning for him.
"I privation that my past earthly travel reason precisely successful this past Marian sanctuary wherever I went for supplication astatine the opening and extremity of each Apostolic travel to confidently entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and convey Her for her docile and maternal care," Francis said successful his will.
"The tomb indispensable beryllium successful the earth; simple, without peculiar decoration and with the lone inscription: Franciscus," helium wrote.
Burial rites volition beryllium led astatine the tract by the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
Among those that volition beryllium gathered for the accomplishment of the pope's coffin astatine St. Mary Major are individuals from communities Pope Francis supported, including prisoners with peculiar permission, stateless people, and victims and survivors of enactment trafficking.
When volition they take the adjacent pope?
After the funeral, 9 days of mourning volition begin, called the Novemdiales.
Eligible cardinals nether the property of 80 — presently a radical of astir 135 — volition stitchery successful Rome to hole for the papal conclave, the centuries-old process to select the adjacent pope. The conclave usually begins astir 2 weeks aft a pope's death, truthful successful this case, apt successful aboriginal May.
During the conclave, eligible cardinals volition isolate themselves and, down closed doors successful the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, they volition formed ballots for their choice, repeating the process until a campaigner receives a two-thirds-plus-one majority. The ballots, which are paper, are burned aft each circular of voting.
If nary prime has been reached, the ballots from that circular nonstop up achromatic fume from the chimney arsenic they burn. When a caller pope is yet selected, a unreality of achromatic fume is sent up to awesome the momentous quality to the world.
Anna Matranga contributed to this report.
Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital planetary reporter, based successful the CBS News London bureau.
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