Pope Francis' coffin closed after massive tribute

Published at: 25/04/2025 09:58 PM

Pope Francis' coffin remained open until 19:00 local time (17:00 GMT) this Friday, as his funeral approached, and after the visit of more than 250,000 people to St. Peter's Basilica of the Vatican to say their last goodbye, in this way, the fiery chapel concluded so that this Saturday, April 26, the solemn funeral and burial will take place in the Basilica of Santa María La Mayor, as requested by the Argentine Supreme Pontiff.

The Vatican confirmed this information in a statement: “From the morning of Wednesday, April 23 at 11:00 (09:00 GMT) to this afternoon at 19:00 (17:00), about 250,000 people came to St. Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis.”

In this sense, the rite of closing the Holy Father's coffin will take place at 20:00 (18:00 GMT) and will be private. In the case of Francis, he asked to simplify the liturgy to bring it closer to that of any bishop.

International media highlighted that the authorities expect the presence of 200,000 people at the funerals that will take place in St. Peter's Square. In addition, 130 delegations from countries will attend, as well as heads of state and personalities, including the kings of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia.

It should be noted that 149 cardinals of the 252 that make up the Sacred College arrived in Rome. Therefore, the 133 who are under 80 years old will enter the conclave to elect Jorge Mario Bergoglio's successor.

Mazo News Team