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What to know about Pope Francis’ Saturday morning funeral

April 25, 2025 Catholic News Agency 2
The casket of Pope Francis rests sealed in St. Peter’s Basilica prior to the Holy Father’s funeral, Friday, April 25, 2025, / Credit: Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 25, 2025 / 18:36 pm (CNA).

The funeral for Pope Francis, pontiff from March 13, 2013, until his death on April 21, will be held on Saturday morning in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.

Saturday’s funeral will kick off the traditional “Novendiales,” nine consecutive days of mourning for the suffrage of the late pope. He will be buried at the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

When and where is the funeral and how can I watch it?

The funeral will begin at 10 a.m. Rome time on Saturday, April 26, which is 4 a.m. Eastern Time, 3 a.m. Central Time, 2 a.m. Mountain Time, and 1 a.m. Pacific Time.

The Vatican has not announced how long the funeral will be, but Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral lasted about one and a half hours and St. John Paul II’s funeral was about three hours long.

Pope Francis’ funeral can be watched on the Eternal World Television Network (EWTN) and will be streamed live on EWTN’s YouTube channel.

The funeral will be held on the parvis of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, which is outdoors in front of the basilica.

Who is presiding over the liturgy?

The primary celebrant of Pope Francis’ funeral will be Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, according to a statement from the Holy See.

Re, a native of Italy, was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001. He is 91 years old. He presided over the 2013 papal conclave that elected then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio to the papacy.

The full list of concelebrants is unknown but will include patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests from around the world.

Most of the Mass will be said in Latin, but it will also include other languages, such as Italian, English, Polish, and Arabic.

Who will be attending?

The funeral is open to the general public and approximately 200,000 people are expected to attend the service. There will be a heavy security and police presence.

Numerous world leaders have announced they will attend Francis’ funeral, including United States President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Polish President Andrzej Duda.

What will the readings be? 

The Gospel reading for the pontiff’s Mass will be from the 21st chapter of John, when Jesus Christ asked Simon Peter — the first pope — whether he loved him three times and entrusted the faithful to his leadership:

“‘Simon, Son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, Son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’

“He said to him a third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ … He said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)

“And after saying this, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”

The first reading will be from Chapter 10 in the Acts of the Apostles, in which Peter said: “He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

The second reading will be from St. Paul’s Letter to Philippians, in which the apostle said “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

‘In Paradisum’ antiphon

After the Mass, the antiphon “In Paradisum” will be sung, which prays for the angels to guide the pope into heaven.

“May angels lead you into paradise; upon your arrival, may the martyrs receive you and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May the ranks of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, the poor man, may you have eternal rest.”

Sealing of the coffin

On the eve of the funeral, on Friday at 8 p.m. local time, Cardinal Kevin Farrell presided over the sealing of the coffin. The sealing of the coffin marked the end of the time in which the public could view the mortal remains of the Holy Father. 

The pope is in a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc, and his face was covered in a silk veil, in accordance with the new papal funeral rite approved by him during his papacy. The previous standards called for three coffins: one of cypress, one of lead, and one of oak.

9 days of mourning and burial

The pope’s funeral marks the first day of the nine days of mourning, known as the “Novendiales.”

Over this period, a requiem Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica each night. A different cardinal will preside over each Mass. Those cardinals were chosen by Francis before his death or serve in key Vatican offices.

Each Mass will be focused on a specific subset of the faithful. The Holy See has confirmed that the Sunday Mass will be focused on the Jubilee of Teenagers, which will be celebrated by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Francis will be buried at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, which is a break from the recent papal tradition of being buried in the Vatican grottoes. The burial location is in accordance with the wishes the Holy Father publicized prior to his death. 

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News Briefs

Pope Francis’ coffin to be sealed Friday evening ahead of Saturday funeral

April 25, 2025 Catholic News Agency 0
Pope Francis’ body is blessed in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2025 / 10:13 am (CNA).

Pope Francis’ coffin will be sealed in a liturgical rite this evening ahead of his solemn funeral, set to take place the next morning on Saturday, April 26. 

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo, will preside at the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin beginning at 8 p.m. Rome time April 25, the Vatican announced. After his death on April 21, the pope’s body — dressed in red liturgical vestments with the miter and pallium — had been placed in a simple wooden coffin with a zinc lining. 

Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re, Pietro Parolin, Roger Mahony, Domenique Mamberti, Mauro Gambetti, Baldassare Reina, and Konrad Krajewski have been invited to attend the ceremony, according to Vatican News. Other Holy See officials will be present to assist with the ceremony. 

The liturgy closing the coffin will end the three days of Pope Francis’ lying in state at St. Peter’s Basilica, during which a massive number of Catholics from around the world have come to pay their respects. As of Thursday evening, an estimated 90,000 people have entered St. Peter’s Basilica — many waiting hours in line — to catch a glimpse of the late pope. 

According to a booklet provided by the Holy See that lays out the liturgy, the master of pontifical liturgical celebrations, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, will read what is known as the “rogito,” or deed, a document summarizing the life and works of the pope that “recalls [Francis’] life and his most important works, for which we give thanks to God the Father.”

After the reading of the deed, the Canticle of Zechariah will be sung. Then Ravelli will offer prayers as a preface to covering Pope Francis’ face with a white silk veil. 

“May his face, which has lost the light of this world, be forever illuminated by the true light whose inexhaustible source is in you,” the prayers include. 

After covering Pope Francis’ face, the celebrant — Farrell — will sprinkle the pope’s body with holy water. Then Ravelli will place in the coffin a bag containing coins and medals minted during Francis’ pontificate, and a metal tube with a copy of the rogito, after having affixed the seal of the Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

The zinc lid will be placed on Francis’ coffin. On the lid is a cross, Pope Francis’ coat of arms, and a plaque bearing the name of the pontiff, the length of his life, and the length of his ministry as pope.

The zinc lining will then be soldered and the seals of the Cardinal Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, of the Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, and of the Chapter of St. Peter will be pressed in. The wooden coffin will also then be closed; on the wooden lid are a cross and Francis’ coat of arms. 

An antiphon, several psalms, and the Regina Coeli (for the Easter season) are then prayed. 

The fact that Francis will have only a single coffin represents a departure from previous tradition — prior to reforms put in place by Pope Francis in 2024, popes had three nested coffins: one of cypress, one of lead, and one of oak, each with its own symbolism and function. 

The new papal funeral process instituted only months ago by Pope Francis stemmed from a desire “to simplify and adapt some rites so that the celebration of the funeral of the bishop of Rome better expresses the Church’s faith in the risen Christ, eternal Shepherd,” Ravelli has previously said. 

The funeral itself, called the “Missa poenitentialis,” will be celebrated at 10 a.m. local time April 26 in St. Peter’s Square and marks the first day of the “Novendiales” — nine consecutive days of mourning for the pope.

Following the funeral, Pope Francis will be interred in the Basilica of St. Mary Major at his request, because of his strong devotion to Mary.

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