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April 23, 2025 | 03:54 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The body of Pope Francis was transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, April 23, 2025, where it now lies in an open casket for mourners to pay their final respects.
The beloved pontiff, remembered as a bold and reform-minded leader, passed away on Monday, April 21, at the age of 88 due to a stroke and heart attack.
Before the transfer, the Pope’s body was kept at his Vatican residence. Wednesday’s procession into the Basilica was solemn and grand, entering through the central doors with cardinals in attendance and Latin chants echoing throughout.
Hundreds of thousands of mourners are expected to come from around the world to bid farewell.
How May the Public Pay Their Respects to the Pope?
Following the transfer to St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pope’s body will remain on public display until the funeral on Saturday, April 26. Visitors may pay their respects on Wednesday from 11 AM to 7 PM, Thursday from 7 AM to midnight, and Friday from 7 AM to 7 PM.
With such a large turnout anticipated, long queues are expected as mourners make their pilgrimage to see the Holy Father one final time. Hotels and accommodations in Rome are also seeing surges in demand.
Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, told La Repubblica that local authorities are working to manage the flow of mourners arriving at the Vatican. “After this, there will be the funeral. We are doing everything we can to prepare,” he said, as quoted by Metro.co.uk.
The funeral will take place on Saturday morning in St. Peter’s Square and will be led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals. According to Vatican tradition, the funeral of a pope must occur between the fourth and sixth day after death.
Traditionally, deceased popes are interred in the grottoes beneath St. Peter’s Basilica. However, Pope Francis expressed a wish to break with custom.
In 2023, he stated that his tomb had already been prepared at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. He will thus become the first pope in history to be buried outside the Vatican.
According to Politico, papal funerals typically involve a triple casket system consisting of coffins made of cypress wood, zinc, and elm. However, Pope Francis has chosen a simpler burial, requesting a single wooden coffin.
The Vatican prepares to honor a pope who changed the course of modern Catholicism with one final tribute to a man who led not only with doctrine, but with humility.
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