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A funeral will be held on Saturday for the pope, who changed the rules to make such ceremonies simpler than those traditionally observed.
April 22, 2025, 6:55 p.m. ET
Pope Francis’ funeral will be held on Saturday in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, with simpler rituals than in the past, followed by a burial in a relatively unadorned tomb, in keeping with his desire to draw the Roman Catholic Church closer to the people, the Vatican said on Tuesday.
The ceremony, though undeniably grand in scale, will follow rules the Vatican issued last year, under Francis’ direction, that reflect the humbler, down-to-earth style that became a hallmark of a pontiff who avoided many of the trappings of his predecessors and worked to refocus the church on the poor, the marginalized and the health of the planet.
Political and religious leaders, and thousands of ordinary worshipers from around the world, are expected to attend the funeral, presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.
The pope’s body will lie in one coffin rather than the traditional three-nested coffins, and it will be in the coffin, not on an elevated bier, for the public viewing. In his will, which the Vatican released on Monday, Francis also revealed more about his last wishes, including that “the tomb must be in the earth; simple, without particular decoration.”
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The Vatican announced the funeral plans as memorial Masses for Francis, who died on Monday at 88, were being offered across the world, from Manila Cathedral in the Philippines to Buenos Aires Cathedral in his home city. Flags flew at half-staff at government buildings and days of official mourning began in a number of countries including Italy, Brazil, Lebanon, India and Argentina, the pontiff’s homeland.
