This photo taken on April 21, 2025 and handout on April 22, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis in his open coffin in The Vatican. Vatican Media/AFP

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174537966933420250422-pope-francis-coffin-VN-2 (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">This photo taken on April 21, 2025 and handout on April 22, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis in his open coffin in The Vatican. Vatican Media/AFP </span></span></span></div><p>Pope Francis&#x27;s coffin will be transferred to St Peter&#x27;s Basilica Wednesday for three days of lying in state, with scores of Catholics and well-wishers expected to pay their respects to the beloved spiritual leader before he is laid to rest.</p><p>The body of the Argentine pope, who died on Monday aged 88 after a stroke, will remain there until his funeral on Saturday in the majestic Baroque plaza in front of the basilica.</p><p>Francis died in the Casa Santa Marta, the modest residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy, and his body was moved to its chapel on Monday evening.</p><p>On Wednesday, it will be taken to the ornate St Peter&#x27;s at 9:00 a.m. (3 p.m. in Manila) in a procession accompanied by a liturgy, psalms and prayers.</p><p>His simple wood coffin will enter through the central door of the basilica before being placed before the Altar of the Confession, where Bernini&#x27;s bronze baldacchino soars up towards Michelangelo&#x27;s famous dome.</p><p>The public will be allowed in from 11:00 am until midnight. Thursday hours are 7:00 am to midnight, with Friday from 7:00 am to 7 p.m.</p><div><iframe width="1250" height="703" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lhuck-JdesY" title="Live: Transfer of Pope Francis&#x27; coffin to St. Peter&#x27;s Basilica" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Saturday&#x27;s funeral is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, as well as world leaders including US President Donald Trump and Ukraine&#x27;s Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as Britain&#x27;s Prince William.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/23/marcos-jr-to-attend-pope-francis-funeral-0918">Marcos Jr to attend Pope Francis&#x27; funeral</a></div><p>Afterwards, Francis&#x27;s coffin will be transported to his favorite church, Rome&#x27;s papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where his coffin will be interred in the ground and marked by a simple inscription: Franciscus.</p><p>He will become the first pope in more than 100 years to be laid to rest outside the Vatican.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/4/23/pope-s-vatican-family-pay-tearful-respects-0958">Pope&#x27;s Vatican &#x27;family&#x27; pay tearful respects</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>COME BACK TO ROME</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Italy is preparing for a major security operation for the funeral, with the weekend already due to be busy because of the public holiday on Friday April 25.</p><p>Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said authorities were expecting between 150 to 170 foreign delegations, and tens of thousands of people.</p><p>Italy has declared five days of national mourning -- longer than the three days observed for Polish pope John Paul II in 2005, but less than the week declared for Francis by his native Argentina.</p><p>After the funeral, all eyes will turn to the process to choose Francis&#x27;s successor as leader of the world&#x27;s 1.4 billion Catholics.</p><p>Cardinals around the world have already been sent letters from the Holy See, instructing them to return to Rome to select a new pope.</p><p>Only those under the age of 80 are eligible to vote for a pope in the conclave, which should begin no less than 15 days and no more than 20 after the death of the pope.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/4/22/vatican-recounts-pope-s-francis-last-hours-2107">Vatican recounts Pope Francis&#x27; last hours</a></div><p>About 60 cardinals of all ages already in Rome met Tuesday to choose the funeral date, in a so-called &quot;general congregation&quot;.</p><p>A second meeting is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, led by the camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is charged with running the day-to-day operations of the Holy See before a successor to Francis is chosen.</p><p>Francis&#x27;s death came less than a month after he was discharged from the hospital, where he spent five weeks battling pneumonia in both lungs.</p><p>Despite doctors calling for two months of rest, Francis continued to make appearances in public during his convalescence, where he appeared short of breath and without energy.</p><p>On Easter Sunday, the day before his death, he circled St Peter&#x27;s Square in his popemobile following mass and his traditional address to greet the crowds, stopping to kiss babies along the way.</p><p>The next morning, he died at 7:35 a.m. after having suffered a stroke, a coma and heart failure, according to his death certificate.</p><p>Images of Francis from Monday night lying in his open coffin inside the Casa Santa Marta chapel were published by the Vatican Tuesday.</p><p>The unassuming pope, who eschewed pomp, was dressed in red papal vestments, with a mitre on his head and a rosary laced between his fingers.</p><p>Sister Maria Guadeloupe Hernandez Olivo, from Mexico, said it was &quot;very hard, very sad&quot; to hear news of his death.</p><p>&quot;I did not expect it,&quot; she told AFP in St Peter&#x27;s Square, adding: &quot;I believe he&#x27;s in a better place, no longer suffering, but I do feel this emptiness for our pastor.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/4/22/typhoon-yolanda-victims-remember-day-pope-francis-brought-hope-0028">Super Typhoon Yolanda victims remember day Pope Francis brought hope</a></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Pope Francis's coffin will be transferred to St Peter's Basilica Wednesday for three days of lying in state, with scores of Catholics and well-wishers expected to pay their respects to the beloved spiritual leader before he is laid to rest.</p>

Pope Francis's coffin will be transferred to St Peter's Basilica Wednesday for three days of lying in state, with scores of Catholics and well-wishers expected to pay their respects to the beloved spiritual leader before he is laid to rest.

Pilgrims gather as Pope Francis begins lying in state | ABS-CBN

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Pilgrims gather as Pope Francis begins lying in state

Pilgrims gather as Pope Francis begins lying in state

Agence France-Presse

Published Apr 23, 2025 11:44 AM PHT

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Updated Apr 23, 2025 03:08 PM PHT

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