The funeral of Pope Francis will be held on Saturday. The Vatican in a statement, said the funeral ceremony will take place at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome. A slew of world leaders and foreign dignitaries are set to attend the funeral.
Francis is currently laid out in a coffin in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, where he lived during his 12-year papacy. The pope’s casket will be moved into St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican city tomorrow for public viewing.
He will be the first Pope in more than a century not to be buried in the Vatican, in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica, choosing instead to be laid to rest in Rome’s Basilica of St Mary Major, near his favourite icon of the Madonna.
Pope Francis passed away yesterday at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican city in Rome after suffering a stroke.
Thousands of people are expected at the Vatican to pay their last respects to Pope Francis during this period of mourning.
The process to select next pontiff who will succeed Pope Francis as pastoral leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics will begin nine days after Saturday, at the end of the official mourning period.
