By Our Reporter.
The Holy See Press Office has confirmed that Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 10:00 AM in St. Peter’s Square.
This was decided by the Roman Catholic Cardinals on Tuesday, setting the stage for a solemn ceremony that will draw leaders from around the world.
The Mass which will be celebrated by Patriarchs, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops and Priest from across the globe will be led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals.
The Eucharistic celebration will conclude with the Ultima commendatio and the Valedictio, marking the beginning of the Novemdiales, or nine days of mourning and Masses for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul.
The late Pope’s body will then be taken into St. Peter’s Basilica and then to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for entombment.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the coffin containing the Pope’s body will be carried from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica, so that the faithful may pay their respects.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will preside over the rite of translation on April 23, which will begin at 9:00 AM with a moment of prayer..
The procession will pass through Santa Marta Square and the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs, according to the Holy See Press Office.
The procession will then exit through the Arch of the Bells into St. Peter’s Square and enter the Vatican Basilica through the central door.
At the Altar of the Confession, the Cardinal Camerlengo will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, at the conclusion of which the visits to the body of the Roman Pontiff will commence.
St Peter’s Basilica will remain open for the faithful who wish to pay their respects to the late Pope on Wednesday from 11: AM to midnight; on Thursday from 7:00 AM to midnight; and on Friday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
Pope Francis inherited a Church in disarray and worked hard to overhaul the Vatican’s central administration, root out corruption and after slow start, confront the scourge of child abuse within the ranks of the priesthood.
He often clashed with conservatives, nostalgic for a traditional past, who saw the pope as overly liberal and too accommodative to minority groups, such as the LGBTQ community.
The pontiff during his reign, appointed nearly 80 percent of the cardinals electors who will choose the next pope, increasing, but not guaranteeing, the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive policies.
One of the hallmarks of Pope Francis’s reign was his decision to appoint cardinals to far-flunge region- places where Roman Catholics make up a tiny minority or where the Church is growing faster than in the mostly stagnant West.
While Europe still has the largest share of cardinal electors, with about 39 percent, its down from 52 percent in 2013, when Francis became Pope.
The second largest group of electors is from Asia and Oceania, with about 20 percent.
Many cardinals are little known outside their own countries and they will have a chance to get to know one another at meetings called as General Congregations that take place in the days before a conclave starts and where a profile of the qualities needed for the next pope will take place.
