The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis’s funeral will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square, with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, presiding over the liturgy.
Following the pope’s death on Monday at age 88 from a stroke that led to cardiac failure, cardinals convened Tuesday in the Vatican’s synod hall to begin preparations for the conclave that will elect his successor.
In their first decisions, they scheduled the funeral for Saturday and opened arrangements for the public to pay their respects beginning Wednesday, when his casket will be brought into St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis had been recovering in his residence after a five-week hospitalization for pneumonia.
His final public appearance was on Easter Sunday, when he delivered a blessing and greeted crowds from the popemobile in St. Peter’s Square.
His passing marks the end of the historic papacy of the Church’s first Latin American pope.
Source: AP | Reuters
