WORLD HEADLINE-THE POPE’S FUNERAL | Vatican: Pope Francis’ funeral to be held Saturday, viewing on Wednesday

History’s first Latin American pontiff charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated many conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change. He last appeared in public on Sunday with an Easter blessing and popemobile tour through a cheering crowd in St. Peter’s Square.

Cardinals met at the Vatican on Tuesday to plan the conclave to elect his successor and to make other decisions about running the Catholic Church.

.

.

Here’s the latest:

Cardinals meet in wake of pope’s death

Flag Coat of arms

.
The Vatican says around 60 cardinals participated in the first meeting to decide next steps following the death of Pope Francis.

They decided that ordinary faithful can pay their respects starting when the casket is moved into St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday, and set Saturday for the funeral and burial.

Three Filipino cardinals to join Papal Conclave

The Filipino cardinal-electors are Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Cardinal Jose Advincula, and Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David. All three were appointed to the Sacred College of Cardinals by Pope Francis.

…

This handout picture released by the Press office shows cardinals chanting the Latin hymn “Veni Creator Spiritus” (“Come Creator Spirit”) in the Sistine Chapel before the start of the conclave at the Vatican on March 12, 2013. Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025 aged 88, a day after making a much-hoped-for appearance at Saint Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday, the Vatican said in a statement. (Photo by Osservatore Romano | Agence France-Presse)

.

The cardinals haven’t set a date for the conclave to elect Francis’ successor, but the current norms suggest it couldn’t begin before May 5.

READ: What happens after the pope dies?

Three cardinals were chosen to help the camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, administer the Vatican during the “interregnum” period before the election of a new pope.

Those cardinals are the secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Polish Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, archpriest of the St. Mary Major basilica where Francis will be buried, and Cardinal Fabbio Baggio, a top official in the Vatican’s development and migrants office.

They will be replaced after three days with another three cardinals to help the interim Vatican administrator.

China expresses condolences

China expressed condolences over the passing of Pope Francis, who reached out to Beijing in an effort to improve relations and mend a seven-decade rift between a state-recognized Catholic church and an underground church loyal to Rome.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Tuesday that “China is ready to work with the Vatican side to continue the improvement of China-Vatican ties.”

The country’s Catholic community was divided when the Communist Party came to power and claimed the right to name bishops without consulting the Vatican.

In 2018, Francis’s Vatican brokered a deal with China that granted Rome’s approval to the bishops Beijing had picked. The provisional agreement was renewed in October 2024.

READ: Cardinals prepare Pope Francis’ funeral as succession process begins

Vatican announces funeral plans

Pope Francis’ funeral has been set for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals.

The cardinals have also decided that the public viewing of Pope Francis will begin Wednesday in St. Peter’s Basilica, after his casket is taken by procession from the Vatican hotel where he lived.

The master of liturgical ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, issued the rubrics for the procession by mandate of the College of Cardinals, which met Tuesday to take the first decisions following Francis’ death. Presiding over the procession and the ritual transfer will be the camerlengo, or interim administrator of the Vatican, Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

.

.

Filipinos remember a pope who cared

Pope Francis (R) wearing a plastic poncho waves to well wishers after a mass in Tacloban on January 17, 2015. Fourteen months after the deadliest storm in Philippine history, Pope Francis stood on a rain-swept stage to deliver a message of hope to the battered town of Tacloban. It was desperately needed, mayor Alfred Romualdez told AFP on April 22, a day after the pontiff died in Rome.

.

MANILA, Philippines — Hundreds of Filipinos, some openly weeping, gathered for a mass at the Manila Cathedral on Tuesday to bid goodbye to the late pope, whom they remember for his outreach to the poor and survivors of natural disasters, which often devastate their country.

“He’s a rare progressive pope, who took up a lot of causes and showed a deep concern for the poor,” said Cynthia Esquilona, a 50-year-old mother of two who lit a candle and prayed before a portrait of Francis at the cathedral.

Another worshipper, Conchita Mil, quietly wept as she sat in a pew and thanked Francis for dedicating his papacy to the needy and the sick. Mil, 69, said she has breast cancer.

READ: Pope Francis connected with Filipinos deeply ‘you can feel it from afar’

Francis visited the Philippines, a Catholic bastion in Asia, in early 2015 to console survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, which left thousands of people dead. Pictures showing him rain-soaked in stormy weather but constantly waving and blowing kisses to crowds of typhoon survivors have left a lasting impression.

First images of pope’s body released

They showed him in a wooden casket, in red vestments and his bishop’s miter, with the Vatican secretary of state praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived.

The images were taken during a ritual to confirm the death, presided over by the camerlengo, or interim administrator of the Vatican, Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

Two Swiss Guards stood at attention as Farrell blessed Francis with holy water, the pope’s hands clasped around a rosary.

This photo taken on April 21, 2025 and handout on April 22, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis in his open coffin in The Vatican. (AFP/Vatican Media/-)

…

Australian candidates cancel campaign events

Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton cancelled campaign events planned for Tuesday out of respect for the late pontiff, as early voting began for a May 3 general election.

Flags were flown at half staff from government buildings across the country where a 2021 census found 20% of the population were Catholics.

Albanese was raised as a Catholic but chose to be sworn in as prime minister when he was elected in 2022 by making a secular affirmation rather than by taking an oath on a Bible.

Albanese attended a Mass in honor of the pope in Melbourne’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Tuesday morning.

“I try not to talk about my faith in public,” Albanese told reporters, but added “At times like this, I think what people do is they draw on who they are and certainly my Catholicism is just a part of me.”

READ: Francis, 88: A Legacy of reform, humility, inclusion

Dutton, who was raised by a Catholic father and Protestant mother and attended an Anglican school, planned to go to a church service in Sydney.

“I don’t think it’s a day for overt politicking at all. I think that the day is best spent reflecting,” Dutton told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

India declares 3 days of mourning

The Indian flag flew at half-staff on Tuesday at all government buildings as the country observed three days of mourning as a mark of the respect for Pope Francis.

The Indian flag will be flown half-staff on government buildings across the country for the next two days, as well as on the day of the pontiff’s funeral, the Home Ministry said in a statement.

Taiwan’s Catholics remember Francis

Members of Taiwan’s Catholic community gathered at a church in the capital Taipei for a somber mass as believers prayed and reflected on Francis’ spiritual legacy.

Former Premier Chen Chien-jen, a devout Catholic who visited the Vatican multiple times at the invitition of Francis and previous popes, spoke of the deep loss felt by the faithful.

Chen said “Pope Francis has led all of our churches to thrive over the past 12 years, making significant contributions to world peace and environmental sustainability,” Chen added. “We will remember the teachings he gave us: that we are all brothers and that loving one another makes the world a more peaceful place.”

Bernard Li, former president of Fu Jen Catholic University, highlighted the pope’s compassion and dedication to humanitarian causes.

“He was a compassionate pope who has consistently advocated for world peace and racial equality,” Li said.

President Lai Ching-te ordered flags to fly at half-staff on Tuesday in a show of mourning and respect.

…

WORLD EUROPE

Cardinals to meet after death of Pope Francis, plan for funeral

All cardinals currently in Rome have been invited to gather in the Vatican at 9 a.m., where they were expected to make funeral plans.

.

Joshua McElwee and Crispian Balmer (Reuters) Vatican City Tue, April 22, 2025 Gift Full Article This photo taken on April 21, 2025 and handout on April 22, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis in his open coffin in The Vatican. (AFP/Vatican Media/-)

.

C ardinals were due to meet 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 marginalized.

,

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

.

His sudden death set in motion ancient rituals, as the 1.4-billion-member Church started the transition from one pope to another, including the breaking of the pope’s “Fisherman’s Ring” and lead seal so they cannot be used by anyone else. ”

.

We want to thank the Lord for the gifts he has given to the whole Church with the apostolic ministry of Pope Francis, a pilgrim of hope,” said Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, who led prayers in St. Peter’s Square on Monday evening.

Ads by: Memento Maxima Digital Marketing @[email protected] SPACE RESERVE FOR ADVERTISEMENT

.

All cardinals currently in Rome have been invited to gather in the Vatican at 9 a.m., where they were expected to make funeral plans.

.

US President Donald Trump, who clashed repeatedly with the pope about immigration, said he and his wife would fly to Rome for the event. Among other heads of state set to attend were Javier Milei, president of Francis’ native Argentina.

.

The Vatican has said it expects the ceremony to take place sometime between Friday and Sunday. In a break from tradition, Francis confirmed in his final testament released on Monday that he wished to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major and not St. Peter’s Basilica.

.

The gathering of cardinals will also review the day-to-day running of the Church in the period before a new pope is elected.

.

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. Some 135 cardinals are eligible to participate in the highly secretive ballot which can stretch over days.

.

At present there is no clear frontrunner to succeed Francis.

.

Pope Francis inherited a Church in disarray and worked hard to overhaul the Vatican’s central administration, root out corruption and, after a slow start, confront the scourge of child abuse within the ranks of the priesthood.

.

He often clashed with conservatives, nostalgic for a traditional past, who saw Francis as overly liberal and too accommodating to minority groups, such as the LGBTQ community.

.

Francis appointed nearly 80 percent of the cardinal electors scattered across the world who will choose the next pope, increasing, but not guaranteeing, the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive policies.

.

Many of the cardinals are little known outside their own countries and they will have a chance to get to know one another at meetings known as General Congregations that take place in the days before a conclave starts and where a profile of the qualities needed for the next pope will take shape.

.

The Vatican said late Monday that staff and officials within the Holy See could immediately start to pay their respects before the pope’s body at the Santa Marta residence, where Francis set up home in 2013, shunning the grand, apostolic palace his predecessors had lived in.

.

His body could be moved to St. Peter’s Basilica as early as Wednesday morning for the faithful to visit, the Vatican said.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Ads by:
Memento Maxima Digital Marketing
@[email protected]
SPACE RESERVE FOR ADVERTISEMENT