Author: Eric Deabill

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – After the casket bearing Pope Francis’ body was placed in St. Peter’s Basilica, tens of thousands of mourners lined up to pay their respects.

The open casket was transferred April 23 from the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where the pope had lived, to the basilica.

As the day progressed, two lines – one to the right of the basilica, the other circling around the left – formed. Moving at a snail’s pace, the lines converged at security checkpoints underneath the colonnade around St. Peter’s Square before joining as one massive line heading through the Holy Door and turning toward the central nave.

Waiting times varied, with some told to expect a three- or four-hour wait, while some people leaving the basilica had said it had taken nearly five hours.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, said that in the first 24 hours viewing was open to the public, that is as of 11 a.m. April 24, more than 50,000 people paid their respects to Pope Francis, who died April 21.

The Vatican had originally announced that the basilica would close at midnight April 23-24. However, given the turnout, viewing hours were extended, with the basilica finally closing for 90 minutes at 5:30 a.m.

By April 24, coordination efforts with Rome police and civil protection agencies seemed more streamlined. Toward the north of the basilica, one massive line stretched across Rome’s Risorgimento Square leading to security checkpoints with volunteers sporting neon green vests guiding crowds along the city’s bustling streets.

By 8 a.m., thousands were already slowly making their way to the basilica.

Another line of pilgrims formed heading down the main road – Via della Conciliazione – leading to the basilica while a third line formed at the southern entrance, toward the left of the Bernini colonnade.

Consuelo and Ana, two friends from Valencia, Spain, who were in Italy on a group trip when the pope’s death was announced, spoke to Catholic News Service as they stood in line April 23.

The pope’s death “was a total surprise,” Ana said. “We had booked this flight in January, and when he got sick we were a little concerned, but we did not expect it.”

“His death truly was a surprise,” Consuelo added. “We saw him during Holy Week and even though he looked very weak, we did not expect him to pass away!”

The two friends told CNS that despite the heat from the Roman sun and an estimated four-hour waiting time ahead of them, they wanted to pay their respects.

Consuelo said she was saddened by Pope Francis’ death “because he gave himself to the people. He was a pope who wanted a church that was closer to today’s reality. And it hurts, it hurts (that he is gone). The church should open itself more to 21st-century society and that’s what he tried to do.”

Ana told CNS she was unfazed by the long wait in line and was “willing to wait until the end.”

“Look, I am an atheist, but I still admired him,” she said. “He was an exemplary pope who knew how to open up to new things, to a new society, to new worlds. I am here for this historic moment and taking advantage of the opportunity of being here in Rome.”

VATICAN CITY – To the chanting of Christ’s promise, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,” the mortal remains of Pope Francis were carried into St. Peter’s Basilica by 14 pallbearers.

Thousands of people had made an early morning pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Square April 23 to witness the transfer and pray for the late pope; they erupted in applause when his body, in an open casket, reached the square and again when it reached the top of the basilica steps.

The basilica was to be open until midnight April 23, from 7 a.m. to midnight April 24 and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 25 for visits by the public. Another rite, to close the casket, was scheduled for late April 25. The pope’s funeral was scheduled for April 26 in St. Peter’s Square with burial to follow at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major.

U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, as chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, led the prayer service that accompanied the transfer of the body from the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where the pope had lived and where he died April 21 at the age of 88.

More than 80 cardinals joined the procession ahead of Cardinal Farrell, who was wearing a red and gold cope, and immediately preceded the pallbearers flanked by members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard.

Directly behind the casket were the men closest to the pope in his final days: his nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti; his two valets; and his personal secretaries.

Three religious sisters and a laywoman, whom the pope had appointed to top positions in the Roman Curia, came behind them: Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Raffaella Petrini, president of the office governing Vatican City State; Salesian Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Xavière Missionary Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops; and Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

The basilica’s bell-ringer sounded the death knell as the procession began.

To the singing of Psalms, beginning with “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23), the procession with the casket went into St. Peter’s Square amid the public and then up the central ramp – where Pope Francis would ride in the popemobile – and into the church.

Inside the basilica, the choir and assembly chanted the Litany of Saints and then “Subvenite Sancti Dei,” which begins with the petition: “Saints of God, come to his aid. Hasten to meet him, angels of the Lord. Receive his soul and present him to God the Most High.”

Pope Francis’ body, in a zinc-lined wooden casket covered in red fabric, was placed before the main altar on a low platform cut at an angle so that people coming to pay their respects could see his face.

Cardinal Farrell blessed the pope’s body with holy water and incense and led those assembled in praying the Lord’s Prayer.

Removing their red zucchettos, the cardinals bowed before the coffin, made the sign of the cross and left the basilica. They were followed by bishops, both those who work at the Vatican and those who head dioceses, then hundreds of priests and religious and top Vatican lay employees.

Mary Frances Brennan, who teaches at Kennedy Catholic High School in Seattle, was in the front row in St. Peter’s Square.

She said she had learned the pope had died just a few hours before her flight to Rome was scheduled to leave.

“It was devastating,” she said. “We really wanted to see the pope.”

“He’s my pope,” she said. “I love him and want to honor him.”

Additionally, Brennan said, “now all the people back home have a contact here and can see this through my eyes.”

Waiting in line later to enter the basilica, Adjani Tovar from Mexico City told Catholic News Service that Pope Francis “was a very disruptive pope: As a Jesuit, a true Jesuit, he naturally had a closer connection with people, especially young people.”

“He addressed topics that had been off-limits in the Catholic Church for a long time, and he’s going to be remembered as a turning point for all the openness he showed to different communities, for his focus on inclusion, his relationships with heads of state, and his constant calls for peace,” Tovar said.

ROME (OSV News) – Before he was Pope Francis, the first pope from the Americas, he was Jorge Mario Bergoglio – a kid from Buenos Aires cheering for San Lorenzo, going to live games with his dad on Sundays.

In a country where soccer is practically a second religion, little Jorge found his first taste of joy, teamwork and heartbreak not in the sacristy – but on the pitch.

His devotion to San Lorenzo de Almagro isn’t just a nostalgic footnote – it’s a window into the soul of a pope who knew what it meant to love fiercely, hope deeply and stay loyal – win or lose.

Upon Pope Francis’ passing, San Lorenzo issued a poignant statement reflecting on his lifelong bond with the club: “His passion for San Lorenzo always moved us deeply, and unites us in constant prayer for his soul.”

Affectionately known as “El Ciclón,” this team holds a special place in Argentine soccer history, as one of the “big five” teams. Founded in 1908 by Father Lorenzo Massa, the club’s origins are deeply intertwined with the Catholic Church. The fans of the club are known as “the crows,” for the black cassock Father Massa wore.

Young Bergoglio’s passion for San Lorenzo was inherited from his father, Mario José, who played basketball for the club. Even as archbishop of Buenos Aires, the future pope maintained close ties with the club, officiating Mass at the Ciudad Deportiva chapel, confirming young players like Ángel Correa, and even spending $100 to buy a piece of wood from what used to be the bleachers of the original stadium.

In 2024, despite having shunned all but a handful of awards and public recognitions, according to the club’s statement, he accepted the honor of having San Lorenzo’s future stadium named Papa Francisco.

“Emotional, the Holy Father accepted without doubting it,” San Lorenzo said on April 21, hours after the death of the Argentine pontiff.

Pope Francis wrote in his autobiography “Hope” that he had been nicknamed “hard foot,” and often drew parallels between soccer and life’s broader lessons. In a 2019 address to Italian youth and athletes, he remarked: “Soccer is a team sport. You can’t have fun alone. And if it’s lived like that, it can do good for your mind and your heart in a society that is exasperated by subjectivism.”

Despite taking a vow in 1990 to abstain from watching television, Francis stayed updated on matches through the radio and, later, the Vatican’s Swiss Guards. They would inform him of San Lorenzo’s and Argentina’s results, ensuring he remained connected to his homeland’s passion.

For decades, Argentines have joked that when it comes to soccer, they’ve been divinely favored: They had “the Hand of God” in Diego Maradona and found their long-awaited “Messiah” in Lionel Messi.

Now, with Pope Francis watching from above, fans of San Lorenzo might just be wondering if their beloved Ciclón has an intercessor in heaven. After all, if soccer is a religion in Argentina, it only makes sense that one of its most faithful fans ended up a saintly supporter in the skies.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Growing old isn’t something to be feared, but rather something to embrace as a time of grace in one’s life, Pope Francis wrote in a preface for a book that was not released before he died.

“Yes, we must not fear old age. We should not be afraid to embrace growing old, because life is life, and sugarcoating reality means betraying the truth of things,” the pope wrote in the preface for “Waiting for a New Beginning: Reflections on Old Age.”

The book, which was written by Cardinal Angelo Scola, retired archbishop of Milan, was set to be released April 24 by the Vatican publishing house. Pope Francis, who had written the preface in early February, died April 21 at the age of 88.

Cardinal Scola’s reflections on how he was “preparing for his final encounter with Jesus” offered the “consoling certainty” that death was “not the end of everything, but the beginning of something new,” the pope had written.

“It is a new beginning, as the title wisely suggests, because eternal life – which those who love already begin to experience here on earth, in the midst of their daily occupations – is the start of something that will never end. And it is ‘new’ precisely because we will live something we have never experienced fully before: eternity,” he wrote.

Calling Cardinal Scola “a dear brother in the episcopate and a man who has carried out delicate and important responsibilities in the church,” the pope said he was grateful for the Italian cardinal’s reflection which “beautifully weaves together personal experience and cultural sensitivity.”

The late pope noted the 83-year-old cardinal’s “disarming candor” about his own old age and said he found “a sense of kinship with the author.”

“To restore dignity to a word too often seen as negative is something for which we should thank Cardinal Scola,” the pope wrote. “Because to say ‘old’ does not mean ‘worthless,’ as a throwaway culture would sometimes have us believe. Saying ‘old’ instead means saying experience, wisdom, understanding, discernment, prudence, attentiveness, slowness – all values we desperately need!”

Pope Francis said the real issue is not that one grows old but rather “how we grow old” and if it is lived “as a grace, and not with resentment.”

If “we accept this period – which is sometimes long, when our strength wanes, our bodies tire more easily, and our reflexes are not what they once were – with gratitude and appreciation, then even old age becomes a fruitful stage of life, just as Romano Guardini taught us: one that can radiate goodness,” he wrote.

The pope said he also appreciated Cardinal Scola’s reflections on “the human and social value of grandparents,” a subject he spoke about throughout his papacy.

“I have often emphasized how the role of grandparents is crucial to the balanced development of young people and, ultimately, to a more peaceful society,” he wrote. “Amid the frenzy of our societies – so often obsessed with the superficial and the unhealthy pursuit of appearances – the wisdom of grandparents becomes a beacon, shining through uncertainty and offering guidance to grandchildren, who can draw from their elders’ experience a deeper perspective on daily life.”

He also noted the cardinal’s words on the nature of suffering in one’s old age, which he said showed that the book was “born not just of thought but of affection — because it is precisely to this affective dimension that Christian faith points.”

“Christianity is not merely an intellectual exercise or a moral choice, but a loving attachment to a person — Christ, who came to meet us and chose to call us friends.”

Pope Francis concluded the preface saying that he wished “to repeat the gesture I made upon first donning the white robe of the papacy in the Sistine Chapel” and embrace Cardinal Scola “at least in spirit.”

“Now we are both older than we were that day in March 2013, but still united in gratitude to the loving God who offers us life and hope at every age and stage of our journey,” he wrote.

(OSV News) – World leaders offered condolences for Pope Francis almost immediately after the pontiff died April 21 — a reflection of popes’ importance in diplomacy and geopolitics.

Pope Francis exercised an outsized role in world affairs with his pleas for peace in Ukraine and Gaza, advocacy for the rights of migrants and dealing with hostile regimes persecuting the church such as Nicaragua.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid the most viral tribute to the pontiff, saying on his X account: “Millions of people around the world are mourning the tragic news of Pope Francis’s passing. His life was devoted to God, to people, and to the Church.”

In a post accompanied by a picture of him with the pontiff, Zelenskyy said Pope Francis “knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer, and foster unity.”

Acknowledging the pope’s special relationship with Ukraine, he said: “He prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians. We grieve together with Catholics and all Christians who looked to Pope Francis for spiritual support.”

King Charles III, who recently visited with Pope Francis, sent a condolence telegram reading, “The Queen and I recall with particular affection our meetings with His Holiness over the years and we were deeply moved to be able to visit him earlier this month.”

Other world leaders fondly recalled personal meetings with Francis, too, or working alongside him.

“I saw firsthand his unwavering commitment to placing human dignity at the center of our economic and political systems,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said of his participation in the pope’s Council for Inclusive Capitalism.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who maintained a friendship with the Holy Father, said shortly after his death, “Pope Francis has returned to the home of the Father. We are deeply saddened by this news, as a great man and great shepherd has left us.”

French President Emmanuel Macron lauded Pope Francis, saying, “From Buenos Aires to Rome, Pope Francis wanted the Church to bring joy and hope to the poorest. For it to unite humans among themselves, and with nature. May this hope forever outlast him.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda called him a “great apostle of mercy.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the world lost “an advocate for the weak, a reconciling and a warm-hearted person.” He added, “I greatly appreciated his clear view of the challenges we face.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke graciously of Pope Francis, saying, “From a young age, he devoted himself towards realising the ideals of Lord Christ. He diligently served the poor and downtrodden. For those who were suffering, he ignited a spirit of hope.”

He continued, “I fondly recall my meetings with him and was greatly inspired by his commitment to inclusive and all-round development.”

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog expressed condolences to all Christians and expressed thanks to Pope Francis for peace efforts in Gaza. “I very much hope that his prayers for peace in the Middle East and for the safe return of the hostages will soon be answered,” he said, adding: “May his memory continue to inspire acts of kindness, unity, and hope.”

Pope Francis was remembered by Catholics in his native Argentina as a pastor who prioritized the poor. But politicians often tried to pull him into domestic disputes.

President Javier Milei, who spoke ill of the pope prior to winning office in 2023, said on social media: “Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his kindness and wisdom was a true honor for me.”

Pope Francis became the first Latin American pope with his 2013 election. He was remembered fondly in the region by leaders on all sides of the political spectrum.

“For me, he is a companion in struggle, in travel, in history,” leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on X.

“A humanist who opted for the poor, peace and equality,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who identifies as non-religious, said of Pope Francis on X. “For Catholics and those that are not, it is a great loss.”

Even leaders with difficult or strained relations with the church expressed condolences.

Nicaragua’s co-presidents signed a surprising statement mourning the death of Pope Francis, despite persecuting the Catholic Church, severing ties with the Vatican and forcing bishops and dozens of priests into exile. “Our relations … were difficult, eventful, unfortunately influenced by adverse and painful circumstances that were not always understood,” said the statement from co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo.

Nicaraguans on social media blasted the condolences as cynical.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded the pope for promoting dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. He said in a telegram, “Pope Francis enjoyed great international respect as a faithful servant of Christian teachings, a wise spiritual leader, statesman, and a consistent advocate of the high values of humanism and justice.”

Relations between the pope and the Vatican became strained after Russia’s 2022 invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

At his final “urbi et orbi” (to the city and to the world) message, Pope Francis said: “May the risen Christ grant Ukraine, devastated by war, his Easter gift of peace, and encourage all parties involved to pursue efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Religious leaders from around the world mourned the death of Pope Francis April 21, hailing him as a tireless advocate for interreligious dialogue and unity among faith traditions.

From Buddhist monks to Protestant bishops and Muslim scholars, tributes highlighted the late pope’s deep personal commitment to building bridges between religious communities, often through historic meetings and joint declarations that left a lasting mark on the global religious landscape.

Sheikh Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar mosque and university considered to be a preeminent scholar in Sunni Islam, called Pope Francis “a brother in humanity” who led a “life devoted to the service of humanity, championing the causes of the vulnerable and promoting dialogue among religions and cultures.”

“Pope Francis was a humanitarian icon of the highest order,” the grand imam said in a statement posted on Facebook April 21. “Under his papacy, the relationship between Al-Azhar and the Vatican experienced remarkable growth, beginning with His Holiness’s participation in the Al-Azhar International Conference for Peace in 2017 (in Cairo, Egypt), and followed by the historic signing of the Document on Human Fraternity in 2019 (in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates).”

Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, remembered the late pope as “a true moral leader, a man of deep faith and humanity, and a steadfast friend to the Jewish people.”

“From his early years in Argentina to his papacy,” Lauder wrote, “Pope Francis was deeply committed to fostering interfaith dialogue and ensuring that the memory of the Holocaust remained a guiding lesson for future generations.”

Among Pope Francis’ closest interreligious collaborators was Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Batholomew of Constantinople, who said the pope was “a faithful friend, companion and supporter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”

In a statement delivered via livestream on Facebook, the patriarch recalled their meeting in Jerusalem in 2014, where they prayed before the tomb believed to be where Jesus resurrected.

He added that he had proposed to the pope that they celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea together in Turkey, to which Pope Francis enthusiastically responded: “This is an amazing thought, an amazing idea and proposal,” according to a translation by The Orthodox Times. Now, however, the Catholic Church’s participation in the celebration will be left to Pope Francis’ successor, the patriarch said.

Anglican Bishop Anthony Poggo, secretary-general of the Anglican Communion, said Pope Francis’ legacy included “renewal of the Church’s structures through synodality and the voice of women and lay people” — developments that drew strength from ecumenical friendships.

“His commitment to dialogue, understanding and shared mission opened new avenues of collaboration between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion,” Bishop Poggo said. The pope traveled with the then-Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and the Rev. Iain Greenshields, former moderator of the Church of Scotland on what he called a “pilgrimage of peace” to South Sudan in 2024.

Leaders of the World Methodist Council reflected on a private audience they had with Pope Francis in December 2024, recalling how he addressed historical suspicion between Catholics and Methodists with honesty and warmth, saying, “We are progressing together in knowledge, in mutual understanding and love.”

In a joint statement, Methodist Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett, president of the council, and Rev. Reynaldo Leão Neto, council secretary-general, called the late pope “a voice for unity in love and diversity.”

The Lutheran World Federation noted the pope’s pivotal role in ecumenical milestones such as the 2016 joint commemoration of the Reformation in Lund, Sweden. The Rev. Anne Burghardt, LWF secretary-general, said, “We give thanks for his life and legacy of reform, renewal and unity, which opened doors of dialogue and brought the church closer to people from all walks of life.”

Nearly all the leaders expressed hope that the strengthened relations forged under the late pope would continue to grow deeper; Patriarch Bartholomew prayed for God to “raise up on the throne of St. Peter a worthy successor who will embrace the ideals of Pope Francis and continue his valuable work for all humanity.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis’ final moments were peaceful, and he managed to give one last farewell to his nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, before slipping into a coma early April 21, Vatican News reported.

Among his last words were his thanks to Strappetti late April 20 when he said, “Thank you for bringing me back to the square,” referring to the pope’s surprise appearance after giving his Easter blessing from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The 88-year-old pope, who was still recovering from pneumonia, did not attend the Easter Mass April 20, but he did appear shortly after noon to give the solemn blessing. With his voice still weak, he wished everyone a Happy Easter and he barely raised his arms as he made the sign of the cross.

“The pope wanted to make one last significant surprise by going to St. Peter’s Square for a ride in the popemobile,” Vatican News said in a report April 22. However, the pope was a little unsure and asked Strappetti, “Do you think I can do it?”

The nurse, who had been by his side for the 38 days he was hospitalized in Rome’s Gemelli hospital and then by his bedside 24/7 at the pope’s residence in the Domus Sanctae Marthae since his return March 23, reassured him that he could, Vatican News reported.

For 15 minutes, Pope Francis rode around St. Peter’s Square and a portion of the wide boulevard leading to the square, filled with about 50,000 people. He blessed a few babies and tried to wave; the crowds were thrilled, waving and running where possible to get a closer view.

Even though the pope made a number of surprise appearances in his wheelchair in St. Peter’s Basilica after he was discharged from the hospital and he appeared briefly in the square in his wheelchair at the end of the closing Mass of the Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers April 6 and Palm Sunday April 13, Easter marked his first open popemobile ride since his one-day trip to Corsica in December.

Vatican News reported the pope returned to his residence April 20 “tired, but happy” and he thanked Strappetti for “bringing me back to the square.” The pope hired him to be his personal nurse in 2022.

The pope then rested that afternoon and had a relaxing dinner, Vatican News said.

The first signs that something was wrong happened the next day around 5:30 a.m. followed by “prompt intervention by those watching over him,” it said.

More than an hour later, the pope, who was lying on his bed in his apartment, gestured to wave farewell to Strappetti and slipped into a coma, it said.

“He did not suffer, everything happened quickly,” according to those who were with the pope those final moments, Vatican News reported.

The pope died at 7:35 a.m. from a stroke, the coma and heart failure, the Vatican said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Cardinals already present in Rome and those who were able to get to the city after Pope Francis’ death April 21 held their first meeting at the Vatican April 22.

About 60 cardinals met in the Vatican Synod Hall at 9 a.m. to decide when to move the pope’s body from the chapel of his residence to St. Peter’s Basilica and when to hold the funeral, Matteo Bruni, head of the Vatican press office told reporters.

They decided the funeral Mass of Pope Francis will be celebrated April 26 in St. Peter’s Square after the deceased pope’s body is taken into St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing and prayer early April 23. The public viewing was scheduled to end late April 25 with another prayer service to close the coffin.

During the cardinals’ meeting, which lasted about an hour and a half, the cardinals also drew lots to determine the three cardinals who will serve a three-day term to assist the chamberlain of the church, U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, with the general governance of the church during the period without a pope.

The three cardinals chosen April 22 were Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, former Vatican secretary of state; Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, archpriest of Rome’s Basilica di St. Mary Major; and Italian Cardinal Fabio Baggio, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. After three days, cardinals present in Rome will draw lots once again for the three cardinals to serve the next three-day term, Bruni said.

The meeting began with a prayer of suffrage for the pope and a reading of the “Adsumus, Sancte Spiritus,” a prayer invoking the grace of the Holy Spirit for an assembly, he said.

Paragraphs 12 and 13 of the apostolic constitution, “Universi Dominici Gregis,” were read, offering guidance on how the formal pre-conclave meetings of cardinals, called general congregations, will work. They read aloud the oath written in paragraph 12 that is taken by cardinals entering the general congregations, Bruni said.

Cardinal Farrell also read aloud Pope Francis’ brief final testament in which he had asked to be buried at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major and had offered his suffering for peace in the world.

The cardinals also decided that all beatifications that had been scheduled are postponed until the next pope decides the new date for the ceremonies.

Many cardinals arrived at the Synod Hall at the Vatican through a back entrance, while just a few passed through the Petriano entrance to the Vatican next to St. Peter’s Square and the flock of journalists crowding around it.

Among them was retired Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi who, at 82, is no longer eligible to vote in a conclave.

“The first meeting is less theoretical, it will be the ones that follow — once cardinals arrive from all over the world — that there will be indications on the points of view that will be taken up by who participates in the conclave, as happened in 2013,” he told reporters before entering the Vatican.

The first meeting of cardinals “is more organizational,” focusing on the ceremonies associated with a papal death, he explained, “also because Pope Francis wanted them to be simplified and calmer.”

The cardinal said that Pope Francis’ decision to be buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major “with a particular simplicity” is a kind of “final message that he gives, above all recalling that he wanted to be buried in the shadow of a woman, in this case Mary, and this is significant also for the desire that the church do more for women.”

Cardinal Ravasi, who was president of the Pontifical Council for Culture from 2007-2022, said the late pope had an “instinctive sensibility regarding contemporary culture,” particularly in cultural matters concerning women, young people, science and technology, including artificial intelligence, and communications.

“He was above all someone who was innovative with the language of the church itself,” the cardinal said, recalling phrases the pope would often invoke: “Third World War in piecemeal, the smell of the sheep, the field hospital.”

“All of these expressions were very influential and allowed people to feel directly and immediately in sync” with the church, he said.

The next closed-door meeting for all cardinals who are able to be in Rome will be April 23 in the afternoon, Bruni said.

The faithful were invited to gather in St. Peter’s Square to pray the rosary for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul led by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, at 7:30 p.m. local time April 22.

ROME (OSV News) – In the last years of his papacy, the world saw the more serious, concerned and suffering face of Pope Francis. But with one group he was always beaming, always smiling and always cheerful: the poor.

“Pope Francis put the poor in the center of his papacy because this meant precisely being in the center of the Gospel,” Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, kept repeating throughout the pontificate when asked about initiative after initiative for the Roman homeless and disadvantaged.

For Francis, taking care of those in need meant turning the Vatican upside down. The poor were regularly welcomed inside Casa Santa Marta, where the pope lived, and the Swiss Guards were saluting them as they made their way to the Elemosineria Apostolica – the Apostolic Almsgiving office – for lunch with Cardinal Krajewski. Francis made it perfectly clear – they’re one of us, and they deserve the Vatican to be their home.

The revolution was easy to predict as the cardinal who became Pope Francis was a regular guest in the slums of Buenos Aires and a priest who wouldn’t replace his glasses until they were falling apart. For the Vatican however, the scale of the revolution was shocking.

“The task of the Apostolic Almsgiving is to empty the account for the charity of the Holy Father for the poor, according to the logic of the Gospel,” reads the main banner on the website for Cardinal Krajewski’s office.

Five months into Francis’ papacy, in August 2013, the Polish prelate was picked for the job of distributing charity funds of the Vatican — an appointment that started a whirlwind of initiatives.

“The Holy Father told me to sell my desk,” Cardinal Krajewski told OSV News in November 2023. “You won’t need it,” he recalled, pointing to the pope’s primary directive – to go out and be there where the poor need you.

In November 2014, the news broke that showers for the homeless would be built under the sweeping white colonnade of St. Peter’s Square — the decision following a request by the pope that showers for the poor be built in 10 Roman parishes. Over the years, an outpatient clinic for the poor was built in that same spot, in the touristy center of the Vatican.

“Around 150 people are treated there by doctors daily. Those doctors all work as volunteers, eight to 10 doctors every day — dentists, gynecologists, podiatrists, often professors of medicine! And you know what they tell me — that this is more important to put in their resume than the famous Gemelli clinic,” Cardinal Krajewski said in November 2024 of the privilege the doctors feel to serve the poor in the name of the pope.

“I remember that in one of the first public appointments with the press, Pope Francis said how he would like a poor church, which is poor and for the poor,” Massimiliano Signifredi, Community of Sant’Egidio’s coordinator of services for the homeless, told OSV News.

Sant’Egidio, founded in 1968 by the young Andrea Riccardi, now an esteemed professor of history, intellectual and successful negotiator of peace agreements, over the years has become a network of communities that tend to the poor, including migrants, and advocate for peace in more than 70 countries around the world.

For Francis, Sant’Egidio was a natural ally.

“The Holy Father got to know St. Egidio in the villas miseria, Spanish for shanty towns, in Buenos Aires, and he met many times with our community,” Signifredi stressed.

In 2016, when the pope unexpectedly took Syrian families with him to Rome on a papal plane from the Greek Lesbos island, Sant’Egidio was facilitating the visit and took care of the families in their new life journey.

A year later, Francis announced the first World Day of the Poor.

“The poor are not a problem: They are a resource from which to draw as we strive to accept and practice in our lives the essence of the Gospel,” Francis wrote in the message for the first observance Nov. 19, 2017. He asked the world to celebrate World Day of the Poor on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time — usually the third Sunday of November.

“This Sunday, if there are poor people where we live who seek protection and assistance, let us draw close to them: it will be a favourable moment to encounter the God we seek,” the pope said, adding, “Let us never forget that, for Christ’s disciples, poverty is above all a call to follow Jesus in his own poverty.”

The pope practiced what he preached – every year making the Vatican press corps happy with unusual pictures of the pontiff dining with thousands of the poor, joking with children from disadvantaged families and sincerely laughing with migrants from all corners of the globe.

In 2019, another milestone of the revolution hit. The pope had an empty Roman palace to allocate.

“It is a beautiful building that overlooks the colonnade at St. Peter’s Square. You can see the dome perfectly,” Signifredi said, adding it could easily become a neat Vatican curial office or a five-star hotel, “maybe even more given the location.”

“Do you know how much money he could make if he turned this place into a hotel?” Silvano, a homeless man from Romania, asked OSV News in March 2023 in the premises of Palazzo Migliori. “Millions! But instead he renovated it and gave this place to us, to the poor.”

After extensive renovation carried out under the supervision of Cardinal Krajewski, and which left historical frescoes on the walls, Palazzo Migliori was opened in November 2019 in time for the third World Day of the Poor.

“It is not only a roof on top of their heads, or a bed with a bedside table, but it is the chance to start a new life,” Signifredi said.

There, in Palazzo Migliori, alms given to the homeless are transformed into “real change,” he said.

“When you give alms, you touch someone’s hand. In Palazzo Migliori, the Lord touches the hand of the poor, and with that — he touches their heart. He touches their life so that their life changes,” Signifredi explained.

“It’s not a shelter, it’s home,” added Silvano, who only gave his first name.

The biggest change for the homeless is the fact that after stepping through the threshold of the palazzo, they regain their dignity.

“The first thing you need to do with a homeless man is to accept him, talk to him,” Cardinal Krajewski said.

That is why when the cardinal was told in the spring of 2023 that “a homeless man without a face” lives in the Aventino area, he rushed to see him.

Miroslav, a Slovak man, had his face covered with cloth since his face was disfigured by cancer. “We took him to Palazzo Migliori and took care of him for two months,” Cardinal Krajewski told OSV News in September 2023.

“He was blind as the disease took his eyes, he didn’t have a nose, but for the last two months of his life he was surrounded by friends. Slovak bishops were paying visits to him. He had constant care and attention,” Cardinal Krajewski recalled.

“He would have his window open and would listen to Wednesday audiences of the Holy Father. And every time someone would come he just said, ‘Thank you.’ He never cursed his fate, did not hold a grudge against the doctors, because he was not surrounded by procedures, but people,” Cardinal Krajewski said.

The Polish cardinal celebrated Miroslav’s funeral in Rome’s St. Monica Church on Sept. 16, 2023. He was buried in the Prima Porta cemetery in Rome.

“At the beginning tending to people like Miroslav seems difficult, but only going against the current you will see that this is precisely being in the center of the Gospel,” he said.

“Over 20 centuries of Christian history reveal that the full adherence to the Gospel has gone along with love for the poor. When the church turned away from the poor, it also lost the Gospel,” Signifredi added, underlining Francis’ legacy that he hopes will last for decades and centuries to come.

Miroslav became a symbol of dozens of homeless men, whose funerals were celebrated by Cardinal Krajewski and other cardinals in multiple Roman churches — a goodbye on behalf of the Holy Father.

Community of Sant’Egidio volunteers and collaborators filled the churches on those occasions “dressed in their best clothes, like they were saying goodbye to their own family members,” Cardinal Krajewski emphasized.

“I think Pope Francis has renewed a tradition of the church that has been there since the beginning, and with great human wisdom he has led the church to rediscover the treasure – that is – the poor,” Signifredi told OSV News.

For Signifredi, Pope Francis has shown that “the poor are not a social category, but they are faces. They are hands to be held, to be accompanied. He showed this very concretely when on many occasions he just hung out with them.”

For some, this approach was “uncomfortable,” Cardinal Krajewski said of the many critics of the showers, clinics and shelters surrounding St. Peter’s.

“Jesus loved people so much he went to the cross for them. And why did people crucify Jesus? Because they did not understand him. The fact that someone did not understand Pope Francis does not mean we shouldn’t have done on his behalf what was done,” the Polish prelate emphasized in September 2023.

“The most beautiful thing in life is to become a purpose for another human being.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The funeral Mass of Pope Francis will be celebrated April 26 in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over the liturgy, which begins a nine-day period of official mourning and daily memorial Masses.

The deceased pope’s body, which was taken to the chapel of his residence late April 21, the day of his death, will be carried into St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing and prayer early April 23.

The public viewing was scheduled to end late April 25 with another prayer service to close the coffin.

The rites and rituals for dressing the body, moving it to St. Peter’s Basilica and celebrating the funeral are published in the “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis” (“Funeral Rites of the Roman Pontiff”).

The rites originally were approved by St. John Paul II in 1998 but were released only when he died in 2005. Modified versions of the rites were used after Pope Benedict XVI died Dec. 31, 2022, and Pope Francis revised and simplified them in 2024.

U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, the chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, presided over a prayer service for the formal verification of the pope’s death April 21 in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis celebrated an early morning Mass most days before his final illness.

Cardinal Farrell will lead the prayerful procession to take the pope’s body, already in its coffin, from the chapel, into St. Peter’s Square and then into the basilica.

According to the book of rites, he will say, “Dearest brothers and sisters, with great emotion we accompany the mortal remains of our Pope Francis into the Vatican basilica where he often exercised his ministry as the bishop of the church that is in Rome and as pastor of the universal church.”