Pope Francis’ coffin will be sealed during a liturgical rite held in St Peter’s Basilica on Friday at 8 am, Vatican News has reported.
This will be done ahead of the papal funeral on Saturday, April 26 in the morning.
The ceremony, known as the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin, will be presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.
The liturgical rite will be attended by several Cardinals and Holy See officials. It will also be broadcast across Vatican News’ channels.
The event will bring to an end the public viewing in St Peter’s Basilica.
Faithful were allowed to view the Pope’s body on Wednesday morning, where St Peter’s Basilica remained open until 5:30 am, on Thursday, closing for an hour and a half before reopening at 7 am.
Vatican has stated that the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations requested the presence at the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin of Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re, Pietro Parolin, Roger Mahony, Domenique Mamberti, Mauro Gambetti, Baldassare Reina, and Konrad Krajewski.
Those assisting the rite will also include Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari, Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, the Canons of the Vatican Chapter, the Ordinary Minor Penitentiaries of the Vatican, the late Pope’s secretaries, and others admitted by the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, Archbishop Diego Ravelli.
The Pope’s funeral will take place on Saturday, April 26, at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST).
Pope Francis died of a stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025.
Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State Andrea Arcangeli issued the official certification.
According to the medical report, the Pope had a prior history of acute respiratory failure caused by multimicrobial bilateral pneumonia, multiple bronchiectases, high blood pressure, and Type II diabetes.
“His death was confirmed through electrocardiographic thanatography. I hereby declare, that the causes of death, to the best of my knowledge and judgment, are as stated above,” Arcangeli said.
Pope Francis’s funeral will take place outdoors in front of St Peter’s Basilica.
by SHARON MWENDE
