TUESDAY April 22, 2025 |
By thenewsdesk.ng
The Vatican has announced that the funeral of Pope Francis will be held on Saturday at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST, 08:00 GMT), marking the final farewell to one of the most beloved figures in modern Catholic history. His death has prompted a profound wave of mourning from faithful followers and global leaders alike.
Images released by the Vatican show the late pontiff lying in an open coffin, dressed in a red robe, wearing the papal mitre, and holding a rosary. His body will be taken to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, where his casket will remain until the burial, giving the public an opportunity to pay their final respects.
A steady stream of mourners has already begun visiting the basilica. The atmosphere at the Vatican is one of solemn reverence, as people from all over the world come to honour a Pope remembered for his humility, compassion, and global influence.
Tributes have poured in from around the world, with leaders praising Pope Francis’s moral courage, especially his work on poverty, migration, and climate change. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who will attend the funeral in Rome, hailed the late pontiff as “the most Brazilian of Argentinians”—a warm nod to the Pope’s love for football and his close relationship with Brazil, the country with the world’s largest Catholic population. Pope Francis’s first international trip was to Brazil in 2013, and he canonised several Brazilian saints during his papacy.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda will also attend the funeral. In a post on X, the president’s office announced that Saturday will be observed as a national day of mourning in Poland, a country where Catholicism holds deep roots and Pope Francis was greatly admired.
Other high-profile attendees include US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and French President Emmanuel Macron. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be in attendance, according to his press secretary.
