Pope Francis’ funeral has taken place in the Vatican, and his coffin has arrived at the church in Rome where he’ll be buried –

Pope Francis “touched minds and hearts” and wanted to “build bridges, not walls”, said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who led the service

Dozens of leaders and dignitaries – including Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Prince William – joined an estimated 250,000 mourners, with 50,000 inside St Peter’s Square itself

Trump and Zelensky met inside St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral – the White House called the 15-minute talk “very productive” – and are due to meet again today

The Ukrainians also released a picture of Trump and Zelensky in conversation with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron

Source: BBC

When the world learned of Pope Francis’ death on Monday morning, an Irish-American cardinal, little known in the wider world, was the one to break the news.

After announcing that the pope had “returned to the home of the Father”, Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Farrell took on one of his biggest roles yet: the “camerlengo”, or the person who runs the Vatican after the death or resignation of a pope.

Pope Francis nominated the cardinal for the role in 2019. The cardinal will remain in the position during the “Apostolica Sedes Vacans”, the period between the death or resignation of a pope until the election of the next pontiff.

He also will play an important role in the centuries-old ceremonies to mourn Pope Francis.

Born in 1947 in Dublin, Farrell attended the University of Salamanca in Spain and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, according to the Vatican.

He held roles in churches around the world, serving as a chaplain at the University of Monterrey in Mexico as well as at a parish in Bethesda, Maryland.

All told, the 77-year-old spent more than 30 years working for churches in the US.

Farrell was appointed Bishop of Dallas in 2007 until Pope Francis asked him in 2016 to serve as the leader of the Vatican’s new department responsible for the pastoral care of families, raising him to the rank of cardinal.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell and other Vatican officials announce the death of Pope Francis in a video statement from the Vatican on 21 April.

Years after naming him as camerlengo, in 2023, Francis chose Farrell as president of the Supreme Court of Vatican City State. He was also named president of the Commission for Confidential Matters.

How the next Pope is chosen

As camerlengo, Cardinal Farrell will be tasked with making arrangements for the conclave, the process through which the next pontiff is selected.

Technically, a camerlengo can become pope, as has happened twice in history: Gioacchino Pecci (Pope Leo XIII) in 1878 and Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) in 1939.

The cardinal also will preside over the certification of Francis’s death, laying his body into the coffin. After that, the cardinal is expected to lead a procession moving the pope’s body from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica.

The ceremony could take place as soon as Wednesday morning, according to the Vatican.

Source: BBC

Pope Francis’s funeral will take place on Saturday at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST, 08:00 GMT), the Vatican confirms.

The Vatican has also released images of Pope Francis in an open coffin, dressed in a red robe with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary in his hand

He will be taken to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, where his casket will remain until burial for the public to pay their respects

The pontiff’s death has prompted an outpouring of grief from Catholics across the globe. From South Sudan to Argentina, Poland to the Philippines, the BBC reports from across five continents.

Source: BBC

Pope Francis has died at the age of 88, after 12 years as spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

His death has set in motion the centuries-old process of electing a new Pope.

What does the Pope do?

The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church. Roman Catholics believe he represents a direct line back to Jesus Christ. He is considered a living successor to St Peter, who was chief among Christ’s initial disciples, the Apostles.

That gives him full and unhindered power over the entire Catholic Church and makes him an important source of authority for the world’s roughly 1.4 billion Catholics.

While many Catholics often consult the Bible for guidance, they can also turn to the teachings of the Pope, which govern the Church’s beliefs and practices.

About half of all Christians worldwide are Roman Catholics. Other denominations, including Protestants and Orthodox Christians, do not recognise the Pope’s authority.

The Pope lives in Vatican City, the smallest independent state in the world. It is surrounded by the Italian capital, Rome.

The Pope does not receive a salary, but all his travel costs and living expenses are paid for by the Vatican.

What happens when the Pope dies?

A papal funeral has traditionally been an elaborate affair, but Pope Francis recently approved plans to make the whole procedure less complex.

Previous pontiffs were buried in three nested coffins made of cypress, lead and oak. Pope Francis has opted for a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc.

He has also scrapped the tradition of placing the Pope’s body on a raised platform – known as a catafalque – in St Peter’s Basilica for public viewing.

Instead, mourners will be invited to pay their respects while his body remains inside the coffin, with the lid removed.

Francis will also be the first Pope in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican.

He will be laid to rest in the Basilica of St Mary Major, one of four major papal basilicas in Rome.

A basilica is a church which has been granted special significance and privileges by the Vatican. The major basilicas have a particular connection to the Pope.

Who chooses the new Pope?

The new Pope has to be chosen by the Catholic Church’s most senior officials, known as the College of Cardinals.

All men, they are appointed directly by the Pope, and are usually ordained bishops.

There are currently 252 Catholic cardinals, 138 of whom are eligible to vote for the new Pope.

The others are over the age of 80, which means they cannot take part in the election, although they can join in the debate over who should be selected.

How is the Pope chosen and what is the conclave?

When the Pope dies (or resigns, as in the rare case of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013), the cardinals are summoned to a meeting at the Vatican, followed by the conclave, as the election is known.

During the time between the Pope’s death and the election of his successor, the College of Cardinals governs the Church.

The election is held in strict secrecy inside the Sistine Chapel, famously painted by Michelangelo.

Individual cardinals vote for their preferred candidate until a winner is determined, a process which can take several days. In previous centuries, voting has gone on for weeks or months. Some cardinals have even died during conclaves.

The only clue about how the election is proceeding is the smoke that emerges twice a day from burning the cardinals’ ballot papers. Black signals failure. The traditional white smoke means the new Pope has been chosen.

How is the decision about the new Pope made public?

After the white smoke goes up, the new Pope normally appears within an hour on the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square.

The senior cardinal participating in the conclave will announce the decision with the words “Habemus Papam” – Latin for “we have a Pope”.

He will then introduce the new Pope by his chosen papal name, which may or may not be his original given name.

For example, Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but he chose a different name for his papacy in honour of St Francis of Assisi.

Who can become the Pope?

In theory, any Roman Catholic man who has been baptised can be considered for election to become Pope.

In practice, however, the cardinals prefer to select one of their own.

When the Argentine-born Pope Francis was chosen at the previous conclave in 2013, he became the first pontiff ever to hail from South America, a region that accounts for roughly 28% of the world’s Catholics.

But historical precedent suggests the cardinals are far more likely to pick a European – and especially an Italian.

Of the 266 popes chosen to date, 217 have been from Italy.

Source: BBC

The Pope, who is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died at 07:35 local time on Easter Monday

World leaders pay tribute to his “contagious smile” and “boundless compassion”, with French President Emmanuel Macron calling him a “man of humility”

His death comes a day after he appeared in St Peter’s Square to wish “Happy Easter” to thousands of worshippers

He was recently discharged from hospital last month after five weeks of treatment for an infection.

The pontiff’s death not only follows the most important calendar event for Catholics, but falls into the special jubilee year, which comes around every 25 years.

The jubilee kicked off when the Pope opened the usually bricked-up Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica on 24 December, and sees millions of pilgrims descend on the Vatican to pass through the doorway and seek forgiveness for their sins.

Tens of thousands of Catholics had gathered for the Easter Mass in this special year.

Source: BBC