Pope Francis’s funeral will be held this Saturday, the Vatican confirmed today, as tributes continue to pour in from around the world for the late pontiff.
Global leaders, including former U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, have announced plans to attend the ceremony.
The 88-year-old Argentine pope died on Monday after suffering a stroke, just weeks after being discharged from a five-week hospital stay where he was treated for double pneumonia.
The funeral Mass is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican and is expected to draw enormous crowds.
In line with his personal wishes, Francis will be laid to rest in a modest wooden and zinc coffin.
Following the service, the coffin will be moved into St. Peter’s Basilica, then taken to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where Francis will be buried.
His choice makes him the first pope in over a century to be buried outside the Vatican grounds.
The funeral date was confirmed by the first “general congregation” of cardinals on Tuesday morning—an initial step in the centuries-old process leading to the election of a new pope, which must take place within 15 to 20 days of a pontiff’s death.
Earlier Tuesday, the Vatican released the first images of Pope Francis lying in repose in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, his longtime residence.
Wearing red papal vestments and a mitre, with a rosary entwined in his fingers, the pope’s body will be moved to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday to lie in state for public viewing.
Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas.
He ascended to the papacy in 2013 following the historic resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, and quickly became known for his humility, reform-minded leadership, and outspoken defense of the marginalized.
Tributes have flowed in from around the globe, celebrating Francis’s legacy. His native Argentina has declared a week of national mourning, while India began three days of mourning—a rare honor extended to a foreign religious figure.
Francis’s death certificate, released by the Vatican, cites a stroke as the cause of death, leading to a coma and subsequent “irreversible heart failure.”
Despite being advised to rest, the pope remained active, appearing publicly as recently as Easter Sunday. Observers noted he looked fatigued but still greeted crowds from the popemobile with his characteristic warmth.
In keeping with his simple lifestyle, Francis’s will requested a plain tomb marked only with his papal name, Franciscus.
With his apartment now sealed and the Church preparing for conclave, the world watches as the Catholic community mourns a transformational leader—and prepares for what comes next.
