Pope Francis to be buried at St. Mary Major Basilica following Saturday funeral
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The body of Pope Francis lies in state at the Vatican's Domus Sanctae Marthae chapel, surrounded by Swiss Guards, cardinals, and Vatican officials paying their respects before his transfer to St. Peter's Basilica for public veneration on April 22, 2025. The mortal remains of Pope Francis will be transferred to St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday, April 23. / Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, Apr 22, 2025 / 04:53 am (CNA).Pope Francis' funeral Mass will take place Saturday, April 26, at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square, the Vatican announced Tuesday. The Mass will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals. Following the funeral, the pope's coffin will be taken to St. Peter's Basilica and then to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for burial. In accordance with his personal wishes, Francis will not be buried in the Vatican grottoes but instead at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, a church he visited more than 100 times during...
The body of Pope Francis lies in state at the Vatican's Domus Sanctae Marthae chapel, surrounded by Swiss Guards, cardinals, and Vatican officials paying their respects before his transfer to St. Peter's Basilica for public veneration on April 22, 2025. The mortal remains of Pope Francis will be transferred to St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday, April 23. / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Apr 22, 2025 / 04:53 am (CNA).
Pope Francis' funeral Mass will take place Saturday, April 26, at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square, the Vatican announced Tuesday.
The Mass will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.
Following the funeral, the pope's coffin will be taken to St. Peter's Basilica and then to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for burial.
In accordance with his personal wishes, Francis will not be buried in the Vatican grottoes but instead at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, a church he visited more than 100 times during his papacy, before and after international trips, in devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that he plans to attend the funeral with the first lady, Melania Trump. Other heads of state, religious leaders and thousands of faithful from around the world are expected to attend.
In the days leading up to the funeral, the late pope's body will lie in state at St. Peter's Basilica, where the faithful can pay their final respects. He will lie in state from Wednesday morning until the funeral Saturday morning, following the rite of translation on Wednesday, April 23, which will begin at 9 a.m. A procession will pass through Santa Marta Square and the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs before entering the basilica through the central door, according to the Holy See Press Office.
The papal funeral will follow the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, the Vatican's official liturgical text for papal funerals, which was updated at Francis' request in 2024. The late pope's face, his body having been placed in a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc, is covered with a silk veil.
The funeral is the first in nine days of Masses offered for the repose of his soul, known as the "Novendiales." Each day, a cardinal chosen by the late pope will preside over a Requiem Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.
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Cardinal Francis Arinze speaks to EWTN News on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAVatican City, May 3, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Cardinal Francis Arinze has said that the Church needs "a pope who is full of fire for the kingdom of Christ." In an interview with EWTN earlier this year, the 92-year-old cardinal reflected on the qualities needed in the next pope, offered wisdom to younger cardinals who will enter their first conclave, and spoke of the challenges facing the Church today. "We want a pope who is full of fire for the kingdom of Christ," the Nigerian cardinal said. "A pope who is there spreading the Gospel. … A pope through whom people will believe." Cardinal Francis Arinze speaks to EWTN News on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAFor Arinze, who has served as a bishop for 60 years and a cardinal for 40, the next successor of St. Peter must above all be a witness to Christ, a pope whose "life is powerful." "The biggest chal...
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Confessional. / AS photo studio/ShutterstockCNA Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Friday signed a controversial state law that requires priests to report child abuse to authorities even if they learn of it during the sacrament of confession.The measure, introduced in the state legislature earlier this year, adds clergy to the list of mandatory abuse reporters in the state, but doesn't include an exemption for information learned in the confessional. A 2023 version of the proposal had offered an exemption for abuse allegations learned "solely as a result of a confession." The latest bill does not contain such a carve-out, and in fact explicitly notes that clergy do not qualify for a "privileged communication" exemption. Ferguson told reporters that as a Catholic he was "very familiar" with the sacrament of confession. "[I] felt this was important legislation," he said on Friday. Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly, meanwhile, said in a Frida...
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Cardinal John O'Connor attends the St. Patrick's Day parade in New York City as grand marshal on March 17, 1995. / Credit: JON LEVY/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).In 1975, Cardinal John O'Connor, the late former archbishop of New York, visited the Dachau concentration camp. His life-changing experience there eventually led him to found the Sisters of Life, a community of women dedicated to living out his mission: protecting and enhancing human life.Today, 25 years after his death, more than a 100 of those sisters will gather with O'Connor's relatives, friends, and those who have benefited from his ministry to celebrate his legacy.Sister Maris Stella, vicar general of the Sisters of Life, reflected on that legacy and told CNA that throughout his life O'Connor "had great respect for the dignity of the human person" and always had the dream to work with people in need, specifically children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups....
