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Traditions and Rituals Following Pope Francis’ Death
Following the passing of Pope Francis, a series of time-honored traditions and rituals will be observed, including his funeral service and the public viewing of his body. These centuries-old customs, deeply rooted in Vatican protocol, mark the transition and mourning period for the leader of the Catholic Church.
The 88-year-old pontiff had been in declining health, having been hospitalized two months prior for an infection that progressed into pneumonia.
The Vatican declared his death on Monday morning, initiating a period of mourning for the estimated 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.
Lying in State at St. Peter’s Basilica
Pope Francis’ body will be transferred to St Peter’s Basilica within Vatican City later this week. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni indicated that the public viewing, known as lying in state, could commence as early as Wednesday morning.
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The late pontiff will lie in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, allowing faithful to pay their respects before the funeral. Hundreds of thousands of mourners are anticipated to visit and pay tribute to the revered leader of the Catholic Church as he lies in repose.
Certification, Sealing, and Papal Symbols
Prior to the public viewing, the Vatican Chamberlain, currently Cardinal Kevin Farrell, will officially confirm Pope Francis’ death. This formal declaration involves calling his name three times at his bedside.
Subsequently, the Pope’s office and private living quarters will be sealed. The papal fisherman’s ring, a significant symbol of his authority, will be removed from his finger and ceremonially broken with a hammer.
Funeral Arrangements
The funeral Mass is scheduled to take place within six days of the death. An official date for the ceremony is yet to be announced by the Vatican.
Historically, papal funerals have been grand ceremonies. However, Pope Francis had expressed a wish for a more simplified and less elaborate service.
Departure from Burial Tradition
In a break from tradition, Pope Francis indicated he does not wish to be interred in the papal grottoes beneath St Peter’s Basilica, the customary burial place for many of his predecessors.
In late 2023, the Pontiff disclosed that he had already prepared his final resting place within the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, situated in Rome’s Esquilino neighborhood.
This Basilica holds significant status as one of the four major papal basilicas. Seven popes, spanning from Honorious III in the 13th century to Clement IX in the 17th century, are entombed there.
Pope Francis will be the first Pope in over a century to be buried outside of the Vatican.
Changes to Lying in State Protocol
The Pontiff also opted against the traditional practice of placing the Pope’s body on an elevated platform, known as a catafalque, within St Peter’s Basilica for public viewing during the lying in state.
Instead, mourners will be invited to pay their respects as his body rests inside the coffin with the lid open.
Simplified Casket
Further modifying tradition, new procedures issued the previous year stipulate that Pope Francis will be laid to rest in a single, zinc-lined wooden casket.
Traditionally, three caskets were utilized for papal burials to ensure an airtight seal. These multiple layers also provided space for religious objects, such as coins and papal documents from the Pope’s reign, to be interred with the body.
For instance, Pope Benedict XVI, Francis’s predecessor, was buried using three nested coffins, including an inner coffin crafted from lead.
Benedict lay in state in St Peter’s Basilica prior to his burial in the crypt below.
Since its completion in 1626, over three-quarters of popes, 24 out of 31, have been buried in the St Peter’s Basilica grottoes.
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore’s Significance
Pope Francis frequently visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for prayer before and after his international travels.
He made over 100 visits to this fifth-century church, often praying before a revered image of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus.
Interestingly, Pope Benedict XVI was buried in the same tomb that previously held the remains of his predecessor, John Paul II, until 2011. John Paul II passed away in 2005.
Historical Context: Papal Burials
Pope Benedict XVI’s Funeral
The wooden lid of Pope Benedict’s outer coffin was adorned with a simple metal cross, the emblem of his nearly eight-year papacy, and a Latin inscription detailing his lifespan and the date his papacy concluded upon his retirement on February 28, 2013, when he became Pope Emeritus.
He was the first Pope in six centuries to retire from the papacy.
Pope John Paul II’s Lying in State and Burial
Pope John Paul II’s remains were moved to a chapel on the main floor of the basilica after his beatification in 2011.
An estimated two million mourners paid their respects during his lying in state.
Pope John XXIII’s Interment and Display
Pope John XXIII, who died in 1963, was initially buried in a marble sarcophagus beneath St Peter’s Basilica.
Since 2001, his body has been on display in a glass sarcophagus under the altar of St. Jerome in St Peter’s Basilica.
A written record of his papacy, known as a rogito, coins minted during his pontificate, and his pallium stoles were placed within his coffin.
Updated Funeral Rites
Pope Francis will still lie in state in St Peter’s Basilica prior to his funeral service.
The second edition of the ‘Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis’ (‘Funeral Rites of the Roman Pontiff’), updated in the previous year, modified the rites initially approved by Pope John Paul.
Instead of a catafalque, Francis’s body during the lying in state will be in his coffin, remaining open until the night before the funeral, as reported by Vatican News.
The ritual verification of Francis’s death will occur in his bedroom, rather than his private chapel, as per the updated rites.
The revised rites also specify that he will be placed inside his coffin before being carried into St Peter’s Basilica for the lying in state and subsequent funeral ceremonies.