TUESDAY April 22, 2025 |
By thenewsdesk.ng

Cardinals were meeting Tuesday to set the date for Pope Francis’s funeral, as world leaders from US President Donald Trump to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said they would attend to honour the Catholic leader.

The first so-called “general congregation”, called following the death Monday of Francis, 88, signals the start of a centuries-old tradition that culminates in the election by cardinals of a new pontiff within three weeks.

The first images of the Argentine pontiff in his open coffin were published by the Vatican Tuesday.

The pope was seen during a service Monday evening in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy, and where he died.

Francis was wearing his red papal vestments, a mitre on his head and had a rosary between his fingers.

Tributes have poured in from around the globe for Francis, a liberal reformer who took over following the resignation of German theologian Benedict XVI in 2013.

His home country, Argentina, prepared for a week of national mourning while India began three days of state mourning on Tuesday — a rare honour for a foreign religious leader in the world’s most populous nation.

Heads of state and royalty are expected for his funeral, due to be held at St Peter’s Basilica, with Trump and France’s Emmanuel Macron the first to announce they would attend.

On Tuesday, a source at the Ukrainian presidency told AFP that Zelensky, too, would come to Rome.

The funeral should be held between the fourth and sixth days after the pope’s death, according to the Apostolic Constitution — so between Friday and Sunday this week.

But the details will be decided by the cardinals, whose first of a series of “general congregations” was scheduled for 9:00 am (0700 GMT) Tuesday.

Cardinals of all ages are invited to the congregations, although only those under the age of 80 are eligible to vote for a new pope in the conclave.

The conclave should begin no less than 15 and no more than 20 days after the death of the pope.