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Pope Francis' Funeral to Be Held Sat. 04/22 06:12
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis will be laid to rest Saturday after lying
in state for three days in St. Peter's Basilica, where the faithful are
expected to flock to pay their respects to history's first Latin American
pontiff.
The cardinals met Tuesday in the Vatican's synod hall to chart the next
steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis' successor, as condolences
poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must
begin between May 5 and 10.
The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square,
to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni
Battista Re. U.S. President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump
plan to attend, and Argentine President Javier Milei is also expected.
The Argentine pope died Monday at age 88 after a stroke put him in a coma
and led his heart to fail. He had been recovering in his apartment after being
hospitalized for five weeks with pneumonia. He made his last public appearance
Sunday, delivering an Easter blessing and greeting followers from his
popemobile, looping around St. Peter's Square.
His Easter appearance from the same loggia where he was introduced to the
world as the first pope from the Americas on March 13, 2013, was a fitting
bookend to a 12-year papacy that sought to shake up the church and return it to
its Gospel-mandated mission of caring for the poorest.
Vatican officials remember Francis
"He truly gave everything he had, up to the end," said Sister Nathalie
Becquart, one of the highest-ranking women at the Vatican.
While the ordinary faithful will have an opportunity to pay their respects
beginning Wednesday, Vatican officials were allowed to say their goodbyes
starting Monday evening. Speaking to reporters after she paid her respects,
Becquart marveled at Francis' final Easter salute to his flock. "He really
walked with his people," she said.
Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi said it was specifically Francis' effort
to promote the role of women in the church that will be one of his greatest
legacies. Ravasi noted that Francis chose to be buried near his favorite icon
of the Madonna, in a basilica across town, and not in the grottoes underneath
St. Peter's, as is typical for popes.
"He wanted to be buried under the shadow of a woman, in this case Maria,"
said Ravasi, the Vatican's former culture minister as he arrived for Tuesday's
first meeting of cardinals. "That is significant, his desire for the church to
do more for women."
The first images of Francis' body were released Tuesday, showing him in red
vestments and his bishop's miter in a wooden casket, with the Vatican secretary
of state praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he
lived and died.
In his final will, Francis said he wanted to be buried at St. Mary Major
Basilica, which is home to the Salus Populi Romani icon of Mary. Before and
after every foreign trip, Francis would go to the basilica to pray before the
Byzantine-style painting that features an image of Mary, draped in a blue robe,
holding the infant Jesus, who in turn holds a jeweled golden book.
Francis stopped by the basilica on his way home from the Gemelli hospital on
March 23, after his 38-day stay, to deliver flowers to be placed before the
icon. He returned April 12 to pray before it one last time.
The world reacts
Bells tolled in chapels, churches and cathedrals around the world and flags
flew at half-staff in Italy, India, Taiwan and the U.S. after Francis' death
was announced by the camerlengo, who takes charge of the Vatican after a pope's
death. Soccer matches in Italy and Argentina were suspended in honor of the
pope who was a lifelong fan of the San Lorenzo soccer club.
World leaders praised Francis for his moral leadership and compassion, while
ordinary faithful remembered his simplicity and humanity.
"Like every Argentine, I think he was a rebel," said 23-year-old Catalina
Favaro, who had come to pay her respects in the Buenos Aires church where
Francis discovered his priestly vocation. "He may have been contradictory, but
that was nice, too."
In East Timor, where Francis' final outdoor Mass drew nearly half of the
population last September, President Jose Ramos-Horta praised Francis' courage.
"Pope Francis was a brave man who was not afraid to speak out against the
rulers of the world who seek war, but do not want to seek peace," Ramos-Horta
said.
"He challenged the powerful to act with justice, called nations to welcome
the stranger, and reminded us that our common home -- this Earth -- is a gift
we must protect for future generations," said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu,
who is Muslim. Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and has around 30
million Catholics, representing about 14% of the population.
Viewing the pope's coffin
The pope's formal apartments in the Apostolic Palace and in the Santa Marta
hotel were sealed Monday evening, following a centuries-old ritual. Cardinal
Kevin Farrell, who as camerlengo had the task of announcing the death and
confirming it once the cause was determined, presided over the rituals.
Francis chose not to live in the palace, but in a two-room suite in Santa
Marta on the other side of Vatican City. He died there and his body was
transferred to the hotel chapel in the lobby, where the private viewing was
underway Tuesday for Vatican officials and members of the pontifical household.
In changes made by Francis last year, his body was not placed in three
wooden coffins, as it had been for previous popes. Rather, Francis was placed
in a simplified wooden coffin with a zinc coffin inside.
Once in St. Peter's, his casket will not be put on an elevated bier -- as
was the case with past popes -- but will just be be placed simply facing the
pews, with the Paschal candle nearby.
"He was a pope who didn't change his path when it came to getting (his
hands) dirty," Francis' vicar for Rome, Cardinal Baldassarre Reina, said in a
Mass in his honor. "For him, poor people and migrants were the sacrament of
Jesus."
Choosing the next pope
After the funeral, there are nine days of official mourning, known as the
"novendiali." During this period, cardinals arrive in Rome and meet privately
before the conclave.
To give everyone time to assemble, the conclave must begin 15 to 20 days
after the "sede vacante" -- the "vacant See" -- is declared, although it can
start sooner if the cardinals agree.
Once the conclave begins, cardinals vote in secret sessions in the Sistine
Chapel. After voting sessions, the ballots are burned in a special stove. Black
smoke indicates that no pope has been elected, while white smoke indicates that
the cardinals have chosen the next head of the Catholic Church.
The one who has secured two-thirds of the votes wins. If he accepts, his
election is announced by a cardinal from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica who
tells the world: "Habemus Papam" -- Latin for "We have a pope."
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