Vatican City – Pope Francis The funeral will take place at Vatican on Saturday at 10 am (8:00 GMT), with hundreds of thousands of guests and pains planned to attend the end The final ceremonies of the pontiff.
United States President Donald Trump and the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, will be among the dozens of dignitaries traveling to the Vatican for the ceremony, which will be a simpler thing than the previous papal funerals.
Last year, The Argentine Pope He modified the funeral rites to show that he was a « disciple of Christ » instead of « a powerful man in this world. »
Who will be there?
In addition to being an important religious event, papal funerals also have a significant diplomatic dimension.
The Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, but also directs the Holy See, a sovereign legal entity with a seat in the United Nations, and the state of the Vatican. There are about 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, concentrated mainly in Europe, America and more and more in Africa.
For this reason, papal funerals often attract a large number of political figures. When Pope John Paul II died in 2005, his funeral attracted about 70 presidents and prime ministers, making it one of the largest meetings of world leaders in history.
Among those who have already confirmed his attendance at the Francis funeral on Saturday, the United States President, Trump, the United Nations Chief, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia President Vladimir Putin does not plan to attend, according to Kremlin, but there will be a delegation from China.
Beside these political figures, there will be a large number of Catholics and others with problems.
The Italian government said on Tuesday that he expected at least 200,000 foreigners to travel to Rome for the funeral. Although the Vatican is a sovereign state, it is in the heart of the Italian capital and Italy will help manage some elements of logistics.
There is, however, some reason to think that eventual participation will be higher than the Italian government’s estimation: the last funeral of a sitting pope, John Paul II, attracted about four million attendees.
That said, the number of mourning on Saturday may not reach the maximum. While the two popes enjoyed great levels of popularity, John Paul had served for 26 years, compared to the 12 of Francis. In addition, the Poland of John Paul, where he had a large number of admirers, was close enough to Italy to facilitate large -scale trips.
What will happen to the funeral?
In 2024, Pope Francis simplified the rite of burial for the Roman pontiffs, which presents the rubrics for papal funerals.
According to the new rites, Francis will be buried in a single coffin, instead of the three used the previous popes.
Different language will also be used, during the funeral, the pope will be called « Bishop of Rome », « Pope », « Pastor » or « Roman Pontifex », with larger titles such as « supreme pontiff of the universal church ».
MIRTICELI MEDIROS, a Catholic Church historian and a Vatican correspondent for Brazil’s Globonews, told Al Jazeera that « the simplification of Francis of funeral rituals not only reflects his humility, but also known, but also his revolution from the Pope’s institution. »
« He always said he was not comfortable with the idea that the Vatican was the last absolute monarchy in Europe, » said Medeiros. « That is why, from the beginning, he presented himself as » Bishop of Rome « , who for him was the most dignified title: he was a bishop, a shepherd and a Christian like any other. »
Explaining the changes, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, a teacher of papal liturgical ceremonies, said that the goal was to show that the pope’s funeral is « that of a shepherd and a disciple of Christ, and not a powerful man in this world. »
Archbishop Ravelli added that it was Francis himself who emphasized the need to « adapt certain rites, so that the celebration of the bishop of Rome funeral could better express the faith of the Church in the resurrected Christ. »
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91 -year -old Italian, who is currently dean of the College of Cardinals, is expected to chair the Pope’s funeral mass.
He will direct those present in the biblical prayers and readings and deliver the congratulations and the final valledric, relying on the Pope’s soul to God.
The funeral will be held in different languages, reflecting the international nature of the Catholic Church and the different backgrounds of the present.
It is likely that, as is the case with most masses of this type in Vatican, the main sentences will be called in Latin and Italian, with biblical readings in Italian, Spanish and English, and several shorter sentences in other languages such as Arabic, Polish and Chinese.
What happens after the funeral?
After Pope Francis’s funeral, his coffin will be transferred to the Basilica of St Mary Major, a church that is outside the Vatican walls that he especially liked to visit.
Francis will be the first pope to be buried since 1600 and the first in more than 100 years to be buried outside the Vatican.
In his last will, published on Monday, the pope requested that his grave be « on the ground; simpleWithout a particular ornament, ”and specified that the only word should be his papal name in Latin: » Franciscus « .
A simple tombstone in a church that has not maintained the pope’s remains in centuries: it is a final place of final rest for a man who will be remembered by many for his humility and independence.
« After its election in 2013, the Pope first appeared in public in simple white dresses, as a way to demonstrate his desire for a less ostentatious church, » said to Jazeera Christopher White, the Vatican correspondent of the National Catholic Reporter.
« So », added White, « it is appropriate that he has stripped the funeral rites, to ensure that in death he can offer a final lesson in symbolism for a church that, he waits, will continue on a path to humility. »
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