Pope Francis' funeral will take place on this day, preparations have begun in Vatican City; body kept for last rites

Roman Catholic cardinals decided on Tuesday that Pope Francis' funeral will take place on Saturday in St Peter's Square, with dignitaries from around the world in attendance for the ceremonial ceremony.

After a long illness, 88-year-old Pope Francis died of stroke and cardiac arrest on Monday morning. According to the Vatican, the body of the Pope, dressed in traditional attire and holding a rosary in his hand, has been kept in an open coffin at his residence Santa Marta. Italian President Sergio Mattarella visited the Pope's residence and paid tribute to him.

Pope Francis' funeral will be held on Saturday

In a meeting on Tuesday, all the cardinals of Rome decided the outline of the programs related to the funeral. His coffin will reach St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday morning, where it will be kept for the last darshan till 7 pm on Friday. However, the process and program for the selection of the new Pope is yet to be announced. At present, there is no clear contender for the new Pope. His funeral will be held at St. Peter's Square in front of St. Peter's Basilica at 10 am on Saturday.

These veterans will attend the funeral

The ceremony will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91-year-old Dean of the College of Cardinals. Apart from US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, heads of states of Italy, France, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, European Union, Argentina, Britain and Belgium and other countries will also arrive to bid him a final farewell. As per the Pope's wish, he will be buried in St. Mary Major Basilica.

Pope Francis said goodbye to the world on Monday

The election of the new head of the Catholic Church, which has around 1.4 billion followers in the world, will also begin after this. According to the Vatican, the Pope accepted the greetings of the people on Sunday and wished them Easter and ignoring the advice of doctors to take continuous rest, he went among the people in the Popemobile vehicle. He spent the rest of his day normally.

He had a comfortable dinner and suddenly his health deteriorated at 9 am on Monday (Indian time). About an hour later, he said his final goodbye to Massimiliano Strappetti, the nurse who accompanied him 24 hours a day, and went into a coma. He did not suffer any pain and everything happened very quickly.

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