By Chris Summers
Contributing Writer
The funeral of Pope Francis I, the first leader of the Roman Catholic Church to come from the Western Hemisphere, will take place on Saturday, the Vatican announced Tuesday.
Pope Francis — born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and formerly the cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina — died on Monday at 7:35 a.m. after suffering a stroke, falling into a coma, and suffering heart failure.
He was 88 years old and had been the leader of the Roman Catholic Church since 2013.
Hours before he died, the pope emerged on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, and delivered his traditional Urbi et Orbi address.
He also met U.S. Vice President JD Vance — who converted to Catholicism in 2019 — who was visiting Rome, en route to India.
The Holy See announced a funeral mass for the pope will take place on Saturday morning in St. Peter’s Square.
In a statement they said the mass would be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals, and that patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests from around the world would take part in the ceremony.
The statement goes on to say, “At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, the ultimo commendatio and valedictio will take place. The coffin of the Roman pontiff will be taken to Saint Peter’s Basilica, and from there to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major for burial.”
The Holy See also announced the pontiff’s coffin would lie in state from Wednesday until Saturday.
In a statement, the Holy See said, “On Wednesday 23 April 2025, at 9.00, the coffin with the deceased Roman pontiff Francis will be carried from the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae to the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter, in accordance with the provisions of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis (nos. 41-65).”
They said Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, would then say a prayer over the body, and it would lie in state, where thousands of the faithful are expected to file past and pay respect.
The Congregation of Cardinals met on Tuesday in the Vatican to begin preparations for the funeral and for the conclave that will choose the next pope.
First Asian or African Pope?
Early frontrunners are Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, from the Philippines, Cardinal Peter Turkson, from Ghana, and two Italian cardinals, Pietro Parolin, 70, and 83-year-old Angelo Scola.
Tagle, 67, would be the first pope from Asia, and Turkson, 76, would be the first African pope.
No American cardinal has ever been elected pope.
The pope, who had part of one of his lungs removed as a young man, experienced a respiratory crisis in February that developed into double pneumonia.
He spent 38 days in the hospital before being released, but he remained frail and died on Monday.
Dr. Andrew Arcangeli, the Vatican’s director of health and hygiene, signed the declaration of death, and said the pontiff was already suffering from multiple bronchiectases, arterial hypertension, and Type II Diabetes.
The Holy See said Saturday would be the first day of the novendiali, the nine-day period of mourning for a pope, which suggests the conclave would not be held until May 5 at the earliest.
The College of Cardinals has been exclusively tasked with electing the next pope since 1059, and was constituted in its current form in 1150.
The conclave takes place in the Sistine Chapel and the process is a secret ballot.
More than 1.3 billion Catholics around the world are mourning Pope Francis, and tributes have been pouring in from world leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump, Argentina’s President Javier Milei, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Flags have been ordered to fly at half staff in Italy, the United States, India, and Taiwan.
Several soccer matches in Italy, and in the pope’s native Argentina, were postponed on Monday.
The pope was a supporter of the San Lorenzo soccer club, who posted a statement on the club’s website saying: “Our hearts ache. Pope Francis has left this world, but he will never leave our hearts.”
