Pope Francis To Be Buried Saturday

Pope Francis’ funeral will be held on Saturday, April 26, at 10.00 a.m. (0800 GMT) at St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican said in a statement.

Cardinals gathered at the Vatican on Tuesday to plan Pope Francis‘ funeral, which leaders from around the world will attend ahead of a conclave next month to elect a new head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Francis, 88, died unexpectedly on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he repeatedly clashed with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalised.

The pontiff spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year suffering from double pneumonia. But he returned to the Vatican almost a month ago and had seemed to be recovering, appearing in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.

The Vatican on Tuesday released photographs of Francis dressed in his vestments and laid in a wooden coffin in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, where he lived during his 12-year papacy. Swiss Guards stand on either side of the casket.

A charismatic communicator with a friendly demeanour, Pope Francis succeeded in broadening Catholicism’s appeal at a time of growing disenchantment towards the Church, an institution embroiled in financial and sexual scandals.

Throughout his papacy from 2013 to 2025, the Pope stripped the Vatican of some layers of opacity and connected with the concerns of common people.

He highlighted the plight of the poor and that of prisoners.

Pope Francis condemned the Church’s abuse of power while engaging with other faiths.

His tone marked a radical departure from his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who believed that nurturing the Church’s most ardent believers was the way to strengthen the institution.

But Pope Francis’s shift never translated into fundamental changes to the Church’s doctrine on contentious issues. In most instances, he remained in line with previous papacies, staunchly opposing gay marriage, women becoming priests and priests marrying.