Pope Francis’ funeral to be held on Saturday 26 April at Saint Peter's Basilica

The funeral of Pope Francis will be held on Saturday April 26 on the parvis of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, the Holy See announced on Tuesday.  

Prior to the ceremony, the Pope’s body will be laying in state for three days in the same Basilica.   Catholic faithful are expected to come in from all over the world to pay their respects to history's first Latin American pontiff. 

Pope Francis died on Monday at age 88 from a stroke and irreversible heart failure. He had long had a fragile health. At the time of his death, he was recovering after a five-week hospital stay due to pneumonia. 

The funeral liturgy will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the Dean of the College of Cardinals. Many international leaders are set to attend, including US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, Argentinian President Javier Milei and Ukraine Head of State Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The funeral rituals will follow a simplified protocol revised by Francis himself in November 2024. The pope's body will be placed in a wooden coffin doubled with a zinc coffin rather than the traditional three coffins made of cypress, lead and oak.

Most notably, Francis has chosen to be laid to rest in the St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, rather than in Saint Peter’s Basilica, where most popes are buried. 

Cardinals are expected to gather in Rome in the next weeks to elect a successor to Francis. The conclave will take place in the secrecy of the Sistine Chapel.

Pope Francis made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday, a day before his death.