The Vatican has announced the funeral date and time of Pope Francis after releasing his first images from his open coffin.
According to CNN, the Vatican on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, released the image of Pope Francis adorned in a red robe with the papal mitre in an open coffin as Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell presides “over the rite of the ascertainment of death.”
Pope Francis' funeral details
Vatican News, in a post on Instagram, wrote, “The body of the late Pope Francis will be transferred to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday at 9:00 AM to lie in state until his funeral on Saturday.”
As per the Vatican, the funeral of Francis will be held at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) on Saturday, April 26, 2025, in St Peter’s Square, the piazza outside the Vatican’s main basilica. The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista, will preside over the funeral liturgy.
After the final commendation and valediction, the coffin of history’s first Latin American pontiff will be taken inside St Peter's Basilica for the remainder of the service. Later his body will be taken to Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial.
Remembering the Pope
Soon after the death of the 88-year-old on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, people all around the world, including prominent personalities, political leaders, celebrities and athletes, started paying their tribute to Francis, who made defence of the planet, the difficulties of migrants and peace through dialogue the pillars of his papacy.
For the unversed, Pope Francis died of a stroke and heart failure at his Vatican residence, where he had been living for 12 years since his election in 2013.
