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By Myke Agunwa
Head of Catholic Church, Pope Francis who passed on last Monday will be buried at St. Mary Major Basilica after a funeral ceremony on Saturday.
The Vatican in a statement on Monday added that the body of the late pontiff will be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will take place Saturday, April 26, at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square.
The Mass will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.
In the days leading up to the funeral, the late pope’s body will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful can pay their final respects. He will lie in state from Wednesday morning until the funeral Saturday morning, following the rite of translation on Wednesday, April 23, which will begin at 9 a.m.
A procession will pass through Santa Marta Square and the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs before entering the basilica through the central door, according to the Holy See Press Office.
The papal funeral will follow the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, the Vatican’s official liturgical text for papal funerals, which was updated at Francis’ request in 2024. The late pope’s face, his body having been placed in a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc, is covered with a silk veil.
The funeral is the first in nine days of Masses offered for the repose of his soul, known as the “Novendiales.” Each day, a cardinal chosen by the late pope will preside over a Requiem Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Following the funeral, the pope’s coffin will be taken to St. Peter’s Basilica and then to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for burial.
According to the statement, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, “Will preside at the Mass, which will be concelebrated by Patriarchs, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and priests from across the globe.
“The Eucharistic celebration will conclude with the Ultima commendatio and the Valedictio. The late Pope Francis’ body will then be taken into St. Peter’s Basilica and then to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for entombment. Ahead of the funeral, the coffin containing the Pope’s body will be carried from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will preside over the rite of translation on Wednesday, April 23, which will begin at 9:00 AM with a moment of prayer. The procession will pass through Santa Marta Square and the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs, according to the Holy See Press Office.
“The procession will then exit through the Arch of the Bells into St. Peter’s Square and enter the Vatican Basilica through the central door. At the Altar of the Confession, the Cardinal Camerlengo will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, at the conclusion of which the visits to the body of the Roman Pontiff will commence.”
‘His legacy’ll continue to inspire us,’ it added
In accordance with his personal wishes, Francis will not be buried in the Vatican grottoes but instead at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, a church he visited more than 100 times during his papacy, before and after international trips, in devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Vatican confirmed that the pontiff passed away on Easter Monday at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta within Vatican City.
Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, announced the death of Pope Francis from the Casa Santa Marta on Monday morning.
Farrel said the Pope died at exactly 7.35 am.