Around 250,000 people attended the funeral for Pope Francis Saturday morning on the Place Saint-Pierre at the Vatican, before the late head of the Catholic church was transported to the papal basilica of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) in Rome to be buried. While the ceremony followed many traditions developed over the centuries in the history of the church, there were details chosen unique by Pope Francis. Look at the ceremony Here on CBS News, and find answers to some of your questions about the historic event below.
What time did the funeral of Pope Francis start?
The funeral of Pope Francis began shortly after 10 am, local time (4:00, 1 hour of Pacific) at the Vatican, outside the Saint-Pierre basilica. The ceremony was chaired by the dean of the Cardinal College, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
Hannah McKay / Reuters
The funeral followed the Vatican liturgical book for papal funeral rites, entitled Ordo EXEQUESSEDERSE Romani pontificis. He was broken down into three distincts phases, or “stations”: THE preparation of the body, the visualization of the body, then the funeral.
An updated edition of the old papal funeral rites was approved by Pope Francis last year, Change certain long -standing traditionsIncluding the type of coffin used.
The service on Saturday started with music sung by the Choir of the Sistine Chapel. The first reading was carried out by the American journalist of the Vatican News, Kielce Gussie.
During the homily, Cardinal Re said that “mercy and the joys of the Gospel” were two priorities of Pope Francis, “unlike waste culture”.
“He often reminded us … that we all belong to the same human family and that no one is saved alone,” said Re.
Re said that Pope Francis “raised his voice, imploring peace”, because “war always leaves the world worse than before. It is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone ”.
He said Pope Francis encouraged people to “build bridges, not walls”.
Who attended the funeral of Pope Francis?
Pope Francis’ funeral attended thousands of public members, as well as religious leaders and heads of state around the world.
President Trump And the first lady Melania Trump attended, as did Former President Joe Biden And his wife, Dr. Jill Biden.
Nathan Howard / Reuters
When the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and his wife Olena Zelenska arrived to sit before the service, the crowd gathered broke into applause. Mr. Trump, who tries to negotiate a ceasefire Between Russia and Ukraine,, met in private With Zelenskyy earlier during the day.
The Vatican said that there were delegations of around 130 countries during the ceremony, with 50 heads of state and 10 relevant monarchs present, in particular:
- British prince William
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- French president Emmanuel Macron
- German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Outgoing German chancellor Olaf Scholz
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
- The Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres
- The head of the EU Ursula von der Leyen committee
- President of the European Council Antonio Costa
- The president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,
- Argentinian president Javier Milei
- The president of Honduras Xiomara Castro
- The President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
- The president of India Droupadi Murmu
- President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera
- President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi
- President of Cape Verde, Jose Maria Neves
Senator Susan Collins led a bipartisan delegation American Catholic senators to attend the funeral of the Pope.
Where is Pope Francis buried?
In a breakPope Francis has chosen to be buried outside the Vatican at the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where he often went to pray during his papacy. Seven previous popes are buried thereBut it is the first in centuries.
The coffin was transported through the city in an open potemobile, and huge crowds gathered along the procession route to pay final tribute to the pontiff.
Andrei Pungovschi / Getty Images
Those who gathered outside St. Mary Major applauded when the procession arrives.
Many popes have been buried inside the Vatican, in the Vatican caves, a system of chests on the lower level of the Saint -Pierre basilica – but in His last will and his willFrancis asked that he be heard in the Church which had a particular meaning for him.
“I hope that my last terrestrial trip ends precisely in this former Marian sanctuary where I went for prayer at the beginning and at the end of each apostolic trip to entrust my intentions with confidence to the Immaculate Mother and to thank her for her docile and maternal care,” said Francis in her will.
Jakub Porzycki / Nurphoto via Getty Images
“The tomb must be on earth; simple, without any particular decoration and with the mere inscription: Franciscus,” he wrote.
The funeral rites were to be directed on the site by the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman of the Church, Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
Among those who were gathered for the arrival of the Pope’s coffin in St. Mary Major, there were individuals from the communities supported by Pope Francis, including prisoners with special authorization, homeless, members of the Trans community and victims and survivors of sex traffic, said the Vatican.
When will they choose the next Pope?
After the funeral, nine days of mourning started, called the November.
Cardinals eligible under the age of 80 – currently a group of around 135 – will meet in Rome to prepare for the Papal conclaveThe secular process to be selected The next pope. The conclave usually starts about two weeks after the death of a pope, so in this case, probably in early May.
During the conclave, the eligible cardinals will be isolate themselves and, in camera in the sixtine chapel of the Vatican, they will vote for their choice, repeating the process until a candidate receives a majority of two thirds plus one. Voting bulletins, which are paper, are burned after each voting cycle.
If no choice has been reached, the ballots of this tower send black smoke from the fireplace while they burn. When a new pope is finally selected, a cloud of white smoke is sent to report new capitals in the world.
contributed to this report.