Pope Francis

Joanne M. Pierce He is an emerita professor of religious studies in the SCHOOL OF THE SANTA CRUZ.

The 88 -year -old pontiff had been very aware of his fragile state and his advanced age. Already in 2015, Pope Francis He had expressed the desire to be buried in the Basilica of Santa María Maggiore, a church of the fifth century in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was so dedicated to Mary and his basilica that after each of his more than 100 trips abroad, he would visit him after returning to Rome to pray and meditate.

He has not buried Pape in Santa María Maggiore since the seventeenth century, when Pope Clement IX rested there.

I am a specialist in Catholic liturgical history. In previous centuries, papal funerals have been elaborate matters, ceremonies with a Renaissance prince or another real figure. But in recent years, rites have simplified. As Pope Francis has ordered, here are the steps that the ritual will follow.

First station: body preparation

Funeral rites take place in three parts, called stations. The first takes place in the Pope’s private chapel, after medical professionals have certified His death. Until recently, this stage had taken place in the Pope’s bed.

After the body remains at rest in the chapel, the cardinal who serves as the Pope’s cameraman, the Pope’s Cabinet Chief, will make the arrangements for the funeral. It also has the task of executing the Vatican to a The new Pope is chosen. The current Camerlengo is Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, appointed by Francis in 2019.

As has been done for centuries, the Camerlengo will formally call the deceased Pope with the full name he gave him when he was baptized as a baby: Jorge Mario Bergoglio. There are narratives or legends that indicate that, at this time, the Pope was also used three times on his forehead with a small silver hammer. However, there is no documented evidence that this has been done in the previous centuries to verify the death of a Pope.

Traditionally, another ancient rite will also take place after the Pope’s Death Declaration: the disfiguration of the Pope’s ring. Each Pope uses a custom -made ring with an recorded image of a man who fishes in a boat, listening back to the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus calls St. Peter a “men’s fisherman.” The ring of this fisherman, with the name of the current Pope recorded on the image, could act as a seal in the official documents. Camerlengo will break Francis’s ring and crush the stamp with a hammer or other instrument to prevent any other person from using it.

The Pope’s apartments will also be blocked, without anyone being allowed to enter; Traditionally, this was done to avoid looting.

Second station: see the body

The deceased Pope will dress with his simple white cassock and red clothing, then it will be placed in a simple wooden coffin. This will be taken to the procession to the Basilica of San Pedro, where the public visualization will take place during the next three days.

The Pope’s body will be left in the smooth and open coffin during this visualization period to emphasize the humble role of the Pope as a shepherd, not a head of state. The previous practice would have been to place the body on top of a high platform, called Catafalque; This ended with the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI in 2022.

Pope Benedict was also the last Pope to be buried in the traditional three Cypress, Lead and Olmo coffins. Two coffins contained specific documents on their pontificate; The first coffin also contained the three traditional currency bags (gold, silver and copper, which represent each year of its pontificate.

At Francis’s funeral, after public visualization, a smooth white cloth will be placed on the Pope’s face while in the AFFIN OAK, a continuous part of the papal funerals. But this will be the first time that only one coffin will be used; It is likely to contain a document that describes your pontificate and a bag of coins of your pontificate as well.

The funeral mass will be held in St. Peter’s, most likely inside due to the climate of the late winter, and there will probably be a multitude of believers outside, gathered in the square. Homily will reflect on the life and spirituality of the deceased Pope; Francis himself preached at the funeral of his retired predecessor, Pope Benedict. And the future Pope Benedict, such as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, preached at the funeral of Pope San Juan Paul II when Ratzinger was the leader, or the dean, of all the senior church officials, which is known as the Cardinals College.

The current Dean is Cardinal Giovanni Battista, 91, and it is not clear if he can continue this tradition due to his advanced age. The masses will continue to say in Francis’s memory for nine days after his death, a period called novelty. This ritual was inspired by an ancient Roman tradition that prescribed a period of mourning that ends the ninth day after a death.

Third Station: Burial

Popes in the past have been buried in several different places. Until the legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire at the beginning of the fourth century, the potatoes would be buried in catacombs, cemeteries on the outskirts of Rome.

Subsequently, the potatoes could be buried in several different places, such as the Basilica of San Juan Lateran, the official cathedral of Rome, or other churches in Rome and its surroundings. Some were even buried in France during the fourteenth century, when the papacy moved to the French border for political reasons.

Most of the potatoes are buried in the caves under San Pedro, and from the burial of Pope Leo XIII in San Juan Lateran in 1903, each Pope has been buried in San Pedro. However, according to Francis’s wishes, there is likely to be a procession in Rome to Santa María Maggiore, including the funeral car and cars that transport others that will attend this private ritual.

After some final prayers and a pinch of blessed water, the coffin will be placed in its final location within the church. Only later the area will open for prayers and veneration.

After so many trips from Rome to visit Catholic communities in countries around the world, and so many visits to this basilica to pray and meditate, it seems appropriate that, at the end of the trip of his life, Francis would make a last trip to the church that he loved so much to be lying forever.

This article was republished from The conversation Under a Creative Commons license.

In:
• Pope Francis
• Vatican City
• Dad