Pope Francis, who died at his residence in Vatican’s Kasa Santa Marta at the age of 88 on Monday, requested that his funeral rituals be simplified and Holi C’s news portal Vatican News said on Monday said that focus on expressing Church’s trust in Christ’s revived body. Fresh rituals, Master Archbishop Diego Rawelli, the master’s archeo of the renewed, revealed, “Roman Pontiff’s funeral is that the funeral of a pastor and Christ’s disciple, not a powerful person in this world”. The portal revealed that the late Pope Francis had approved an updated edition of the religious book for the funeral rituals of the Pope, which would guide the funeral month in April 2024, which has not been announced yet.
Simple the funeral rituals to emphasize his role as a bishop and allow them to be buried outside the Vatican according to their wishes. But the main elements remain, which includes three important moments between the Pope’s death and their burials which must be seen.
The most recent Pope Pope John Paul II, who died while holding office, was who died in 2005 due to heart and kidney failure. Francis has been leading the church since the resignation of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2013 – he was the first to do so over 600 years.
By the time the Benedict died at the age of 95 in 2022, some small changes had been made in the funeral as Pope Emeritus. We can also expect to see a simple service for Francis compared to John Paul II’s last darshan and funeral, which had millions of condolences.
CBC’s Vatican Analyst David parlich Told that there are very special rituals for the funeral of the Pope. He said that historical rituals, some of which are hundreds of years or older, and a series of careful planned processes are already running.
Parrich said“This is a highly symbolic phenomenon, and a highly important event. It is filled with rituals of centuries.But Perloch said that before he died, Francis had revised some of the funeral rituals and simplified them, so they removed some more detailed aspects.
Death confirmation and declaration
When a Pope dies, a series of rituals and rituals controlling “gaps” begins – the end of the post of a pope and the period between the choice of a new Pope. During that period, known as the “Seda Vacant”, Camelango or Chamberlane, the administration and finance of Holi C. Camelango’s post is currently with Cardinal Kevin Fareel, the head of the Lati office of the Vatican.
First, Camelango will certify the Pope’s death
Centuries ago, the tradition was that the Camelango used to confirm the death by lightly patting the pope with a silver hammer. According to Encyclopedia Britannika, historically this practice was prevalent when calling the Pope’s baptism three times, and if they did not get any response, they declared his death. It is a very old ritual, which is “done” for a very good reason to determine whether the Pope has actually died. Today, Vatican says that it is no longer in use, he said. For example, in 2005, the death of Pope John Paul II was confirmed by ECG.
Death certificate is authorized
Camelango will still formally call the name of the pope baptized three times. For Pope Francis, he will be George Mario Bergoglyo. When no response is received, the death certificate is authorized and the notification process begins. While historically, the Pope’s death has been announced at St. Peter’s Chowk, we may probably expect Francis’s death to be announced by the Vatican Press Office. The same happened at the time of the death of Pope Benedict XVI in 2022.
Bells will be played in St. Peter’s Chowk
Traditionally, bells will be played in St. Peter’s Chowk to mark the Pope’s death. The body of Pope Francis will be taken to his private chapel and we will be wearing traditional red clothes, which symbolizes his high position. Their Pope’s rights, their mitre and palliam will be respected. This preparation takes place before a symbolic work, in which the “fisherman’s ring” of the Pope’s position is destroyed by the Camelango, which symbolizes the end of the Pope Francis post. This task done with a special hammer is a poignant visual sign of the church’s now entering the transition period.
9-day mourning period, and public philosophy
The rituals for the death of the Pope that ruled include the constitution of a 30-print called the Universe Dominic Gregis, which in the Latin means “the whole flock of the Lord”, and the Ordo Excisequier Romani Pontiffis, or “Funeral for Roman Pontiff”, a missle of more than 400 pages, which include puja, music and prayers.
According to those rules, the burial of the Pope should be between four to six days of his death, which is known as part of the nine-day mourning period which is known as Novandial. Perloch said, “The city has a grief that can be clearly felt.”
Behind the curtain, practical matters will be handled, such as preparing the Pope’s body for public darshan and taking out a procession from St. Peter’s Chowk. Cardinals College Dean (Currently Cardinal Jiovani Batistte Ray) will be in charge of preparations for the upcoming funeral month and Conclave.
Pope’s body to be placed on a high coffin in St. Peter Basilica for public visit
Historically, the Pope’s body is placed on a high coffin in St. Peter Basilica for public darshan. When Pope John Paul II died in 2005, his body was first placed in the Fresco Clementine Hall for the Vatican Staff and then taken to St. Peter Basilica to visit the public.
Funeral and burial
The funeral is performed four to six days after the Pope’s death and usually a large crowd gather.
For the 2005 funeral of John Paul II, people and 100 world leaders attended the estimated 300,000 condolences at St. Peter Square. About 50,000 people attended the 2023 funeral of Benedict, which was chaired by Pope Francis – it was a historic moment.
The funeral will be performed outside the St. Peter Square and will possibly lead by Cardinal Dean in Latin and Italian.
When Francis modified the funeral rituals, they made it in such a way that traditional three coffins made of saru, lead and oak are no longer needed to bury. Instead, Francis will be buried in a single, zinc-interested wooden coffin.
Three coffins were traditionally used to bury the Pope to make a airtight seal around the body of the late Pope. He also allowed the Pope to be buried with the corpse of coins or papers issued by the Pope during his reign.
Francis has also broken the tradition by saying that he wants to be buried in Santa Maria Maggore Basilica in Rome, making him the first Pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century. This is instead of being buried with 91 other late pope in St. Peter Basilica.
The last Pope Leo XII, who was buried outside the Vatican, was, who died in 1903 and was buried in St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome.
Conclave and new pope
And of course, then the new Pope is selected, called the conclave. At this point, the normal mood in Rome is very sad to transform into conspiracy and speculation, Perloch explained, and the conclave itself moves forward with dignity and subtlety.