An extraordinary fan of guests, covering heads of state and royals around the world, as well as refugees, prisoners, transgender people and those who are homeless will descend to Saint-Pierre square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, the revolutionary liberal Pontiff who led the Catholic church for 12 years.
Francis died on Monday at the age of 88 at his home in Casa Santa Marta after a stroke and subsequent heart failure. He recovered from a double pneumonia that had kept him in hospital for five weeks.
Tens of thousands of people in mourning deposited at the Saint-Pierre Basilica to pay tribute to the deceased pontiff during the three days he was in condition. Friday evening, his coffin was sealed during a private ceremony.
The funeral mass begins at 10 a.m. and will be led by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the Cardinals College.
With at least 130 assisted foreign delegations, alongside 200,000 pilgrims, the funeral required a huge and complex security operation in the Vatican and Rome, involving thousands of Italian and military police, as well as the Vatican Swiss guards, the smallest army in the world. St Peter’s Square soldiers were equipped with firearms that slaughter drones, while elite shooters on the roof and fighter planes are in standby.
A delegation from the country of origin of Francis in Argentina, led by its president, Javier Milei, will be seated in the front row during mass, with Italian leaders, including President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in the second row, and other heads of state and the Royals in the third.
The American president, Donald Trump, who for years clashed with Francis about immigration, and his wife, Melania, assist, as well as the predecessor of Trump, Joe Biden.
The other guests include Ukrainian President Voludymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and Prince William. Zelenskyy said late Friday if he was unable to travel, it would be because he was in “military meetings”.
The 87 -page service order, written in English, Italian and Latin, was published on the Vatican website before the funeral.
Pope Francis, a name chosen in honor of Francis d’Assise, the Italian saint who gave up a luxury life to help the poor and simplified rites for papal funerals last year and was very precise on his demands for his, including his guests.
Mediterranean delegations save humans, an Italian NGO working to protect refugees crossing the Mediterranean, and refugees in Libya, who camp on behalf of migrants and refugees held in detention camps in the North African country. Francis has established close friendships with the two groups.
“He was a true disciple of Jesus – he spoke to everyone,” said Luca Casarini, founder of Mediterranea Saving Humans. “There are those who listened to him, like us. He has always encouraged us to save people at sea, to help them escape Libya or Tunisia, and to welcome them. Then there are, for example powerful people, who did the opposite of what he told them. ”
Mahamat Daoud, who was detained in a detention camp in Libya, where he experienced tortures and other abuses, before surviving a treacherous trip through the Mediterranean in Italy in 2023, is part of the delegation of refugees in Libya. Daoud met Francis at his Vatican home at the end of 2023.
“We really feel sorry for this death because he was the only pope who was really standing with refugees and vulnerable people,” said Daoud. “He helped us, not only when we arrived in Italy, but also when we have trouble in Libya.”
Daoud hopes that the funeral will be a unifying event. “We will be alongside people who fight against us, who repel us or force us to live in harmful situations,” he said. “But in the end, we all come together for these funerals, and we really hope it could have a unifying effect.”
At the end of the funeral mass, the simple Francis wood coffin will be slowly led to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, about 2.5 miles in the Esquilino district of Rome.
The procession will make its way in the center of Rome, going from key monuments, including the colosseum. As requested by Francis, when he arrived in the Basilica of the fourth century, he will receive a final shipment by a group of 40 people, including prisoners and homeless.
“Since the start of its papacy, Francis has decided to focus on people who could be considered the company’s lie by others,” said Robert Mickens, a columnist based in Rome for Union of Catholic Asian News.
Francis is the first pontiff in more than a century not to be buried with a large fanfare in the grottoes under the Saint-Pierre basilica.
Instead, his coffin will be buried in a small niche which has been used to store the chandelier holders.
As requested in its last will, the tomb will not be decorated and will only be registered with its papal name in Latin: Franciscus.
Burial will be an “intimate” event to follow by Francis relatives, said a Vatican official.
In the middle of the funeral, speculation is widespread on which will succeed Francis. The cardinals approved nine days of mourning from Saturday, with a conclave – the secret electoral process to choose a new Pope – which should therefore not start before May 5.
