VATICAN CITY (RNS) — In a solemn procession on Wednesday morning (April 23), two long columns of cardinals and Vatican officials escorted Pope Francis’ body from the Domus Sancta Marta, the residence where he died, to St. Peter’s Basilica, where he will remain until his funeral on Saturday.
The sounds of bells and prayerful chants echoed throughout Vatican City as Francis’ body was carried in a simple wooden coffin through the square.
In the square, a large crowd of mourners waited to pay their final respects to the pontiff, who was dressed in a red chasuble and a white miter on his head, with a rosary wrapped around his fingers. Loud applause filled the square as the coffin was escorted by Swiss Guards.
Teresa Piuvano, a New Jersey resident who has been in Rome since March volunteering at Vatican events for the Jubilee year, saw Francis’ appearances on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Easter, she said, “was the most special. I think he wanted to do that to say goodbye to the people because he rode around the whole square even though he was very ill.”
Inside the basilica, the pope was laid on a simple podium instead of the wooden structure, called a catafalque, that has traditionally held a pope’s coffin as he lies in state. The ceremony that concluded the procession, led by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who as camerlengo is charged with overseeing the logistics of the pope’s funeral, referred to Francis in humble terms such as “bishop” and “pastor.”
“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,” Farrell said in the prayer service.
People queue to pay their respects to the late Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica for three days, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
After the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Francis changed the protocol for papal funerals to streamline and simplify the procedures. The pope wanted his own funeral to reflect the life of a pastor and not of a powerful king or politician, he said in interviews.
After the ceremony, cardinals proceeded to bow one by one in front of the coffin before the mourners lined up in the square were admitted. Nearly 20,000 people visited the basilica on Wednesday, according to the Vatican, which added that it would ensure that all who wish to pay their final respects to the pope have a chance by staying open after midnight if necessary.
“In the beginning I had doubts about this pope, but he was kind to people and the poor. I really loved him,” said Anna Dominguez, who came from Cuba.
Dominguez was one of several mourners who complained that they didn’t have enough time in front of Francis’ casket.
A man who identified himself only as Justin was in Rome on vacation. After three hours in line to pay his respects, he said, “It was long … and we’ve been to Disneyland.” But he said the scene was “peaceful and surreal,” and he called Francis “a very calming presence in a chaotic world.”
On Saturday, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, will celebrate the funeral Mass for Francis in front of the basilica. Thousands of Catholics are expected to fill the square, and princes, prime ministers and presidents will also be in attendance. Immediately after the funeral, Francis’ remains will be led to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, where the pope asked that he be laid to rest.
