Public viewings of Pope Francis’s body began Wednesday at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City ahead of the Catholic leader’s funeral on Saturday. After a short procession to the basilica from his private chapel, Francis will be held for public viewing for the hundreds of thousands of people who are expected to show up this week.
Francis died on Monday at the age of 88 from a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, just hours after his last public appearance on Easter Sunday. He had served as the head of the Catholic Church and the Vatican City State since 2013. Francis, who was the first Jesuit pope and the first pope from the Americas, is widely viewed as one of the more informal and progressive popes in history.
Papal funeral rites take place in three parts: The first is in the pope’s private chapel after medics have confirmed his death. The pope’s apartment has also been sealed off with a red ribbon and wax as part of a Catholic ritual called “sede vacante” (Latin for “the seat being vacant”).
A private ceremony took place on Monday in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, where Francis lived during his papacy. Francis’s body will remain inside the residence for private visits from Vatican staff, heads of state and religious leaders before he is transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning.
The second part is when the public is allowed to see the pope in his casket. This takes place in St. Peter’s Basilica and usually lasts for three days. The final part is the burial, which will take place on Saturday.
Throughout the three parts, cardinals at the Vatican will follow a series of rituals outlined by the constitution known as Universi Dominici Gregis (Of the Lord's Whole Flock). After Francis's burial, the cardinals will prepare for the conclave, a series of secret meetings and votes that will determine who the next pope will be.
When can the public view Pope Francis?
Public, in-person viewings of Francis began on Wednesday and will last until he's laid to rest on Saturday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday morning.
His body has been transferred from his papal residence in a short procession to St. Peter’s Basilica, where he will be held for public viewing. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line up and pay their respects to him.
According to the Vatican, the basilica will be open to the public during the following hours (all times local):
Wednesday, April 23: 11 a.m. to midnight
Thursday, April 24: 7 a.m. to midnight
Friday, April 25: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
While there is 24/7 live-streaming footage from St. Peter's Square, the Vatican has not released any official plans for live-streaming from St. Peter's Basilica.
When is Pope Francis’s funeral?
Francis's funeral will be held on Saturday at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) in St. Peter's Square. Cardinal Giovanni Battista, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over the funeral services. After the funeral, Francis's body will be taken to Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major for burial.
While the Vatican has not publicized any official plans to live-stream the funeral, major news networks like the BBC and NBC News have announced they will be broadcasting the service.
Francis planned his funeral in a will written in June 2022, which the Vatican released on Monday. In it, Francis said he wanted to be buried at the Basilica in Rome, not in St. Peter's Basilica, which is where most popes are buried. The Basilica of St. Mary Major is home to Francis's favorite icon of the Virgin Mary, where he often prayed.
Francis also asked to be buried in a simple wooden casket, "unlike predecessors who were buried in three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead and oak."
Francis said he wants his tomb to be “simple, without particular decoration and with only the inscription: Franciscus,” which is Latin for Francis.
Who is going to the funeral?
Based on past papal funerals, Saturday's service is expected to draw a large crowd. Around 50,000 people showed up to Pope Benedict's funeral in 2023, and nearly 300,000 attended Pope John Paul II's funeral in 2005.
As of reporting, the following world leaders have shared they will attend the funeral.
President Trump
Prince William, on behalf of England’s King Charles
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
French President Emmanuel Macron
Irish President Michael Higgins
Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker
Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar and Prime Minister Robert Golob
Spain’s King Felipe VI
Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Argentine President Javier Milei
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
European Council President António Costa
Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever and King Philippe
What happens after Pope Francis’s burial?
After Francis’s burial, there will be nine days of official mourning, known as “novemdiales,” before the conclave begins. The conclave meetings require cardinals to vote on candidates who could become the next pope.
The cardinals have not set an official date for when the conclave will start.
Within 15 to 20 days after Francis's funeral, cardinals are expected to come to Rome to join in daily meetings — known as general congregations — to discuss what they are looking for in the next appointed pope. Cardinals of all ages are welcome to join general discussions, but only those who are younger than 80 years old can vote in the conclave meetings.
Around 120 cardinals will vote twice a day in these conclave meetings — except for the first conclave, in which they only vote once — and they are not allowed to communicate with the outside world. A two-thirds majority is needed for a candidate to be elected pope, and it must happen within 13 days of conclave voting.
After the conclave elects a pope, the candidate will be asked whether he accepts the position and what name he wants. If he rejects the position, the voting process starts all over again.
The world will know when a new pope has been elected when white smoke emerges from the Sistine Chapel chimney.
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