The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will take place Saturday, starting 10 a.m (Rome time) in St. Peter’s Square .
His sendoff Mass will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals.
After the funeral, the pontiff’s casket will be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday for public veneration until Saturday morning and thereafter it will be taken to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for burial.
According to the Holy See Press Office , on Wednesday there will be a procession through Santa Marta Square and the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs before entering the basilica through the central door.
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 is expected to preside over a Requiem Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis , 88 died on Easter Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest.