Roman Catholic cardinals gathered Tuesday in Vatican City to begin a period of prayer, reflection and preparation for the funeral of Pope Francis as details of his final hours emerged.
The congregation of about 60 cardinals is planning Francis’ funeral, which will take place Saturday at 10 a.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced.
Francis, 88, fell into a coma and died of a stroke and irreversible heart failure Monday, the Vatican said. Hours earlier he had dazzled an Easter Sunday crowd in the square by blessing them from a balcony and then rolling among them in his popemobile to raucous cheers.
Francis was the 266th occupant of the papacy, which dates back to the apostle Peter. His death ended a 12-year reign marked by his legacy of reform and repeated clashes with world leaders over immigration and economic issues.
Cardinals are also reviewing the day-to-day operations of the church ahead of the selection of Francis’ successor. A conclave to choose a new pope normally takes place 15 to 20 days after the death of a pontiff, meaning it should not start before May 6. As of Monday, there were 252 cardinals, of whom 135 are electors, according to the Vatican. Cardinals over the age of 80 are excluded from voting.
Developments:
∎ Pope Francis was hesitant about taking the popemobile trip into St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday. He asked Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal health care assistant, “Do you think I can manage it?”
∎ As tributes pour in, some world leaders have confirmed they will attend Francis’ funeral, including President Donald Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
∎ Francis’ death delayed the canonization of the world’s first millennial saint. A canonization service for Carlo Acutis, a British-born Italian who died of leukemia in 2006 at age 15, was initially scheduled for April 27.
Strappetti was with the pope on Easter Sunday when Francis blessed the throngs at St. Peter’s Square. Strappetti told Vatican News that Francis’ final words included “thank you for bringing me back to the Square” for encouraging Francis to take the ride in the popemobile after the Easter service.
Strappetti said Francis rested in the afternoon, had a quiet dinner and went to bed in his second-floor apartment at the Casa Santa Marta. At around 5:30 a.m. the first signs of illness appeared, and around an hour later, after making a gesture of farewell with his hand, Francis fell into a coma. His time of death was recorded as of 7:35 a.m.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests − SNAP − says it has launched a Conclave Watch initiative to vet papal candidates on management of abuse cases. The next pope “must institute a zero tolerance law” for sexual abuse and mandate independent oversight of bishops, the group said in a statement. Abusive clergy and leaders who have covered up abuse from ministry must be immediately removed, the statement said.
“Survivors around the world are mourning what they perceive as the ‘tragedy’ of his papacy − a preventable catastrophe for the children and vulnerable people who were abused during his tenure,” the statement says.
Francis never possessed the necessary credibility to revamp Vatican management of sexual abuse cases because of his handling of cases in Argentina while serving as archbishop of Buenos Aires, the statement said. None of his reforms produced actual “zero tolerance” for abuse or ended the culture of extreme secrecy and control that enables it, the statement adds.
“The next pope must not have any history of having covered up sexual abuse,” it said.
In the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church, most popes have come from Europe, even though there are countries in South and Central America, Asia and Africa with significant Catholic populations. There have been 266 popes throughout history, about 80% of them from Italy. A handful of popes came from North Africa and the Middle East, but they were elected in the early centuries of the Church.
Pope Francis was the first from Latin America. His birthplace, Argentina, is nearly two-thirds Catholic, home to over 30 million Catholics. A review of Catholic populations by country shows that Brazil, Mexico and Colombia all have strong Catholic communities: 140 million, 101 million and 38 million, respectively. Brazil’s Catholic population alone is larger than the combined Catholic populations of Italy, France and Spain.
“To have leadership that comes from around the world, we get to see depth of understanding of Catholic teachings,” said Neomi De Anda, a professor at the University of Dayton who studies Catholicism in Latin America. Read more here.
− Ignacio Calderon and Suhail Bhat
The Vatican released photographs of Francis, dressed in his vestments, in a wooden coffin in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, where he lived during his 12-year papacy. The casket is open and lined with red cloth. Swiss Guards stand sentry nearby.
The coffin will be carried from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday so mourners can pay their respects. In his will, the late pontiff broke from tradition and asked for a “simple” tomb in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major instead of St. Peter’s Basilica.
On Wednesday, Cardinal Kevin Farrell will preside over the “rite of translation,” which will begin at 9 a.m. local time with a moment of prayer. A procession will start at Santa Marta, pass through Santa Marta Square and the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs before reaching St. Peter’s Square and entering the Vatican Basilica.
At the Altar of the Confession, Farrell will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, part of the Mass, followed by a public visitation.
On Saturday, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over the funeral Mass, which will be concelebrated by patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests from around the world, the Vatican said. The pope’s body will be taken into St. Peter’s Basilica and then to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for entombment.
As Catholics mourn the death of Francis and reflect on the pontiff’s legacy as a reformer, questions are emerging about who might follow. Catholics who spoke to the USA TODAY Network were deeply divided.
Some said they wanted the next pope to maintain the church’s more conservative policies on topics such as abortion. Others expressed a desire for Francis’ successor to build on the progress he made, particularly around the inclusion of women and LGBTQ+ people.
“He transcended religion. He really welcomed everyone to the church,” said Carl Sawejko, 67, who founded a telecommunications company in southern Massachusetts called Sawejko Enterprises. He said he served as an altar boy at a church in Swansea, Massachusetts, as a child. Read more here.
Contributing: Christopher Cann, Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY; Margie Cullen, Peter D. Kramer, Caitlyn Kelleher, and Katie Landeck, USA TODAY Network; Reuters