Pope Francis Rests in the Saint Martha Chapel
Pope Francis in the Chapel of Santa Marta, April 22, 2025. /@LucaSebastiani_
April 22, 2025 Hour: 3:41 am
On Wednesday, his body will be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica so that the faithful may pay their respects.
On Tuesday, the Vatican released the first images of Pope Francis lying in a wooden casket in the chapel of his former residence, the Casa Santa Marta.
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The pope rests in a wooden casket lined with red velvet, wearing a purple chasuble and a white miter, and holding a rosary in his hands.
The images were taken at the moment the death was officially certified on Monday at 8:00 p.m., and show many of the cardinals present in Rome gathered in the chapel, as well as members of his close staff surrounding him.
The cardinals currently in Rome are meeting this Tuesday in the first congregation—gatherings of the cardinals following the death of Pope Francis—to determine initial details such as the arrangements for the transfer of the body and the date of the funeral.
“The first meeting will take place at 9:00 a.m. in the Synod Hall. I warmly invite cardinals over the age of 80 to participate in these preparatory General Congregations, although, as stated in no. 7 of the Apostolic Constitution, they are free to participate or not,” reads the letter sent by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, to the cardinals following the pontiff’s death.
The congregations are the meetings that precede the conclave and during which key subsequent steps are decided. Today, the date of the funeral will almost certainly be determined, and according to current Vatican regulations, it is expected to take place between Friday and Sunday.
It will also be confirmed that the body will be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica so that the faithful may pay their respects, which will almost certainly happen on Wednesday, according to the Vatican’s announcement.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
