The Vatican has confirmed Pope Francis’s funeral will take place on Saturday, 26 April 2025, at 08:00 GMT.
Dozens of world leaders including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Argentinian President Javier Milei have announced their plans to attend the funeral in Rome.
The body of the departed pontiff currently is lying in an open coffin in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, dressed in a red robe with a rosary in his hands and a papal mitre on his head.
His body will be moved to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday, April 23, for the public to pay their respects.
Crowds of visitors have flooded St. Peter’s Square. Large groups of people also are moving into the church of St. Mary Major in Rome, where the Pope had asked to be buried. He will be the first pontiff to be buried there since 1669.
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, died at 7:35 on Easter Monday morning in Rome of stroke and heart failure, according to the Vatican.
He had struggled with poor health including pneumonia in both lungs for 38 days in hospital.
He made a surprise Easter Sunday appearance at the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to deliver what would be his final public message and blessing to the Vatican City and the world.
Countless Catholics around the world, religious leaders and political figures have been mourning his passing since Monday, describing him as a leader who made the world feel the love and the peace of God.
Source: Edward Adeti/Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana
