VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis was “a pope among the people, with an open heart toward everyone,” said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, as he presided over the funeral of the pope, who died April 21 at the age of 88.
And the people – an estimated 200,000 of them – were present as 14 pallbearers carried Pope Francis’ casket into St. Peter’s Square and set it on a carpet in front of the altar for the funeral Mass April 26.
His burial took place the same day in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major after being driven in a motorcade through the center of the city where he served as bishop from the day of his election to the papacy March 13, 2013.
Security around the Vatican was tight, not only because of the number of mourners expected but especially because of the presence of kings, queens, presidents – including U.S. President Donald J. Trump – and prime ministers from more than 80 countries and official representatives from scores of other nations.
Also present were the residents of a Vatican palace Pope Francis had turned into a shelter for the homeless and the 12 Syrian refugees he brought to Rome with him from a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos in 2016.
The 135 cardinals eligible to elect the next pope will enter the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave May 7, the Vatican announced.
The cardinals will first celebrate the “Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff” in St. Peter’s Basilica that morning before processing into the Sistine Chapel that evening.
The Vatican Museums announced that the Sistine Chapel would be closed to visitors beginning April 28 to allow preparations for the conclave to begin. The preparations include the installation of a stove to burn the cardinals’ ballots and a chimney on the roof to signal the election results to the world.
The date for the conclave was set during the fifth general congregation meeting of cardinals April 28, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said.