The public viewing for Pope Francis begins on Wednesday
Esquivel Telles, 55, of Mexico, is in remission and will be leaving St. Peter’s square to mourn his death
A tourist from Guadalajara, Mexico, Esquivel Telles, 55, got on a waitlist three months ago, for a group audience with Pope Francis. She prayed to him after she was diagnosed with leukemia. Now in remission, she’s made pilgrimage to the Vatican, to give thanks.
It was a dream of mine to meet him. “But now, we have to say goodbye,” she says as she walks along the cobblestones of St. Peter’s Square.
Faithful from around the world are pouring into the Vatican to mourn Francis, who died Monday of a stroke and ‘cardiocirculatory collapse.’ He died at 88. Public viewing of his body will begin Wednesday in St. Peter’s Basilica, after his casket is taken by procession from the Vatican hotel where he lived.
In St. Peter’s Square, tourists lit candles, and locals sang and placed sympathy cards and drawings around a pillar.
The Vatican says he was a “very caring father” and “revisited a new beginning”, and a book by the former archbishop of Milan
“He was a very caring father, and revolutionary pope,” says Maria Munoz, 51, a tourist from Alicante, Spain. “He tried to change many things in a church that’s antiquated.”
The Vatican says the pope’s funeral will be Saturday at 10 a.m. local time, celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major is a small church in a busy immigrant area of Rome where Francis will be buried instead of St. Peter’s Basilica.
After every foreign trip, Francis would head to the basilica to pray next to the painting of the Virgin Mary. He was last there a few days ago.
A top aide to Mr. Zelensky told a Ukrainian news agency that the president planned to attend the funeral, potentially setting up his first interaction with President Trump since their tense Oval Office meeting in March. “He knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer, and foster unity,” Mr. Zelensky wrote on X in tribute to Francis. “He prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians.”
On Tuesday, the Vatican also released the first photos of the pope in a red velvet-lined open casket. In one, he’s flanked by two Swiss Guards in striped uniforms. In another, the Vatican’s secretary of state, Pietro Parolin, prays alongside him. The pope has red vestments.
A book in Italian titled ‘Awaiting a New Beginning’ written by Cardinal Angelo Scola, the former archbishop of Milan was released this week by the Vatican Publishing House. Reflections on Old Age.”
The late pope wrote that “life is life, and sugarcoating reality means betraying the truth of things.”
A Mass Mass for a Poor and Broken Pope: Celebrating the Death of Cardinal Kevin Farrell with Pope Francis on Sunday, September 21
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Dublin, is the acting head of the Vatican until a new pope is named. He is in charge of preparing the conclave and blocking off the pope’s apartment, which is where a new pope gets elected.
The Vatican’s media office posted video to social media late Monday showing the doors of Francis’ apartment being tied shut with red ribbon, then sealed with red wax.
Catholic cardinals from around the world are making their way to the Vatican. The pope’s death will cause the conclavve to be held within about 15 to 20 days.
They vote, often in several rounds over several days, on who should be the next pontiff. Their votes are hidden in the Sistine Chapel.
The adviser confirmed that the president would be at the event. He was guided by humility and simplicity throughout his pastoral ministry and it was a great tribute to Francis onX.
Brazil, the world’s largest Catholic country, is holding seven days of mourning for Francis. Mr. Lula remembered the pope for his smile and his faith in a brighter future in a post on X.
Mr. Macron praised Francis for standing alongside “the most vulnerable and the most fragile,” and cut short a trip to the Indian Ocean region after the pope’s death.
Ms. Meloni said thatFrancis was a great man and a great pastor. He was being cared for in the hospital. She said she enjoyed his advice and teachings even in times of trial and suffering.
The funeral of Francis on Saturday will conclude a sad week in the life of the pope, whose advocacy for migrants, the poor, the marginalized, and those suffering under war often put him in conflict with some of the powerful people who will pay their respects inside St. Peter’s Basilica.
Francis had openly criticized some world leaders, like Mr. Trump, and faced stinging criticism from others, like President Javier Milei of Argentina, who once dismissed his countryman, the first pope from Latin America, as a “filthy leftist.”
Francis’ funeral will be Mr. Trump’s first foreign trip in his second term, and his first time seeing many of his global peers since he began to shake the world order with steep tariffs, erratic policy swings and dramatic deportations.
Mr. Milei’s office said on Tuesday that he would attend the funeral of Francis, a proud Argentine seen by many as a national hero. A far-right libertarian, Mr. Milei and the pope appeared to smooth over some issues last year.
On behalf of his father, King Charles III, Prince William will attend, a statement said on Tuesday. King Charles and Queen Camilla had met with Francis this month. Mr. Starmer, the British government’s head, said in a post that Francis’ leadership is “courageous” and noted his concern for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten.
