Vatican City – Pope Francis’ funeral will be held at the Vatican at 10am (8am) on Saturday, with hundreds of thousands of guests and mourners scheduled to attend the last ritual of the late Pope.
US President Donald Trump and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are among dozens of senior officials traveling to the Vatican for the ceremony, which will be a simpler event than previous papal funerals.
Last year, the Argentine Pope revised his funeral, showing that he was a “disciple of Christ” rather than a “strong man in this world.”
As seen from Rome on April 23, 2025, the faithful line to enter the Cathedral of St. Peter to pay respects, as Pope Francis is in the nation [Hannah McKay/Reuters]
Who is there?
Not only is it a major religious event, but there is also an important diplomatic aspect to papal funerals.
The Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, but he also leads sovereign judicial groups with seats in the United Nations and the Vatican city-states. There are around 1.4 billion Catholics all over the world, with more focused than anything else in Europe, the Americas and more and more Africa.
For this reason, papal funerals tend to attract a large number of political figures. When Pope John Paul II passed away in 2005, his funeral captivated around 70 presidents and prime ministers, becoming one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in history.
Among those who have already confirmed to attend Francis’ funeral on Saturday are US President Trump, UN chief Guterres and Ukrainian President Voldy Mirzelensky.
According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin is not scheduled to attend, but there will be a delegation from China.
In addition to these politicians, there are a large number of Catholics and other wealthy people.
The Italian government said Tuesday that it expects at least 200,000 foreigners to travel to Rome for funerals. The Vatican is a sovereign state, but it is at the heart of the Italian capital, and Italy helps to manage several elements of logistics.
However, there is some reason why they believe that the final turnout is higher than the Italian government estimate. The last funeral of the sitting Pope, John Paul II, attracted about 4 million participants.
That said, the number of mourners on Saturday may not be that high. Both Popes enjoyed a high level of popularity, but John Paul worked for 26 years compared to Francis’ 12. Furthermore, John Paul’s indigenous Poland was close enough to Italy to promote large-scale travel.
What happens at the funeral?
In 2024, Pope Francis simplified the Pope’s burial ceremony, which gave birth to rubrics for the papal funeral.
According to the new ritual, Francis will be buried in a single co., not in the three used by the previous Pope.
Different languages will also be used during funerals. The Pope is called “The Bishop of Rome”, “The Pope”, “The Pastor”, or “Roman Pontifex”, and has grand titles such as “The Best Church of the Universal Church”.
Mirtiseli Medeiros, a historian of the Catholic Church and Vatican correspondent for Globronev in Brazil, told Al Jazeera, “The simplification of Francis’ funeral rituals reflects not only his humility, but his revolution in the pope’s system.”
“He always said he wasn’t satisfied with the idea that the Vatican was Europe’s last absolute monarchy,” Medeiros said. “That’s why he presented himself from the beginning as the “bishop of Rome.” It was his most dignified title. He was a bishop, pastor, and a Christian like the others. ”
Explaining the change, Archbishop Diego Labelli, master of the Pope’s liturgy, said that the Pope’s funeral was to emphasize that “the shepherd and disciple of Christ, not a powerful man in this world.”
Archbishop Labelli added that “it was Francis himself who emphasized the need to adapt certain rituals, so the funeral celebration of the Roman bishop would better express the Church’s faith in the resurrected Christ.”
Cardinal Giovanni Batista, a 91-year-old Italian, currently dean of Cardinal of University, is expected to preside over the Pope’s funeral mass.
He guides those present in prayer and in Bible readings, leaving the Pope’s soul to God, conveying final praise and dissolution.
Funerals will be held in a variety of languages, reflecting the international nature of the Catholic Church and the various backgrounds of attendees.
As with most masses of this kind in the Vatican, there is a biblical reading in Italian, Spanish and English, and in other languages such as Arabic, Polish and Chinese, there is a biblical reading, and the main prayer is said.
Catholic Christians will hold the portrait of Pope Francis in a procession in the Old Town of Jerusalem ahead of the commemorative mass of the late church of the Holy Grave Church in Jerusalem on April 23, 2025 (AFP).
What happens after the funeral?
After Pope Francis’ funeral, his ffin is moved to the Cathedral of St. Mary’s Major, a church lying outside the walls of the Vatican, which he particularly liked to visit.
Francis was the first Pope to be buried there since the 1600s, and the first Pope to be buried outside the Vatican in over 100 years.
In his final will, released Monday, the Pope asked his tomb to be “simple on the ground, without any particular decorations,” specifying that the only word should be the name of his pope in Latin: “Francis.”
The mediocre tombstone of a church that has not held the relics of the Pope for centuries – it is a fitting final resting place for a man remembered by many for his humility and his independence.
“After the 2013 election, the Pope first appeared in public wearing simple white clothing as a way to show his desire for an unexaggerated church,” Christopher White, a national Catholic reporter and Vatican correspondent, told Al Jazeera.
“So,” White said, “It’s fitting that he stripped the funeral ritual.
