The mourning will be observed across the country on April 22 and 23, and again on the day of the Pope's funeral.
President Droupadi Murmu attended the funeral Mass of Pope Francis at St Peter's Square in Vatican City on Saturday. She was part of an official Indian delegation led by the President and also paid homage to Pope Francis at the Basilica of St Peter. India had declared a three-day state mourning on the passing of Pope Francis, who died on Monday at the age of 88.
President Droupadi Murmu will attend the state funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican City this week, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. Murmu will pay a two-day visit to Vatican City beginning Friday, offering condolences on behalf of the government and people of India. She will pay homage to Pope Francis by laying a wreath at Basilica of Saint Peter on Friday and attend the funeral Mass at Saint Peter's Square on April 26.
Pope Francis remains in critical condition with blood tests showing mild signs of kidney failure 'which is currently under control,' the Vatican said on Sunday, February 23, 2025 as the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia in both his lungs.
Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88 in Rome on Monday, April 21, less than a day after delivering a brief Easter Sunday message in St Peter's Basilica, is remembered as a spiritual leader whose life and final moments were deeply intertwined with prayer and devotion.
Pope Francis, who made a surprise appearance on Easter Sunday, riding through St Peter's Square in the popemobile and greeting crowds just weeks after a serious bout of pneumonia, passed away at 0735 Vatican time on Monday morning.
The funeral mass of Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday, concluded at St Peter's Square on Saturday with the bells of St Peter's Basilica tolling to signal the end of the 2 hours and 10 minutes long service.
The ceremony, held at the famous St Peter's Basilica and attended by clergy and dignitaries from around the world, witnessed the induction of 21 new cardinals from various countries.
'The date of the rearranged fixtures will be announced in due course.'
'Senior Vatican officials were pleasantly surprised at the number of Indians who had come to witness the ceremony.'
Pope Francis has died, the Vatican said on Monday. The Pope passed away on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, according to a statement from the Vatican.
They met with a warm embrace at the Outreach session of the G7 Summit in Apulia, southern Italy where they joined other world leaders to deliberate on the topic of Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Africa and the Mediterranean.
The mass marked the high point of the first papal visit to the Arabian peninsula.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he had a "very warm meeting" with Pope Francis and discussed a wide range of issues, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenge posed by climate change, with the head of the Roman Catholic church and also invited the Pontiff to visit India at an early date.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor, died on Monday. He was 88.
In a rare gesture accorded to few foreign dignitaries, United States President Barack Obama and his family received the Pope at the Andrews Air Force base outside Washington
Mother Teresa, who cared for the world's most unwanted and became an icon of the Catholic Church, was canonised at a ceremony in St Peter's Square in Vatican City.
Pope Francis's connection with India was marked by a mix of hopes and challenges. His long-held wish to visit the country remained unfulfilled, but he made significant contributions to the Catholic community in India, including elevating Indian figures to sainthood and appointing an Indian priest as a Cardinal. While his efforts to resolve conflicts within the Syro-Malabar Church were unsuccessful, his legacy will be remembered for his efforts to promote unity and understanding in the Catholic Church.
'The way our President was greeted, that itself shows how far India has come.' 'People were aware of who she is, people know who our prime minister is.' 'Everybody knows India now and everybody respects India.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in Rome, Italy to participate in the G20 Summit where he will join other leaders in discussions on global economic and health recovery from COVID-19, sustainable development and climate change.
US President Donald Trump has posted a seemingly AI-generated photo of himself in papal attire on his social media, sparking a dueling backlash and praise. The image, which was also posted from the White House's social media handle, prompted many social media users to call it "cosplaying as the next Pope." The photo comes days after Trump had jokingly said last week that he would be his own "number one choice" for the next pope. The president posted the picture at 10:29 pm Friday, without a caption or comment. The post immediately garnered positive and negative reaction online.
The papal conclave, the process to elect a new Pope, is set to begin on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, following Pope Francis' death. The event takes place within the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City and involves the College of Cardinals.
Four cardinals from India, including two from Kerala, are eligible to vote in the upcoming conclave to elect the new Pope. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote, as per the regulations. Anthony Poola, the Archbishop of Hyderabad; Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman; Cardinal Baselios Cleemis of the Syro-Malankara Church; and George Koovakkad, the newly appointed cardinal, are the four who can cast votes in the upcoming conclave.
In his first speech after touching down in the city of Krakow, the pontiff said the way to "overcome fear" was to welcome people fleeing conflict and hardship.
Standing amid the rubble left by the now defeated Islamic State terrorists in Iraq, Pope Francis on Sunday said that hope is 'more powerful than hatred and peace more powerful than war'.
Pope Francis is a lifelong fan of the Buenos Aires San Lorenzo soccer team.
Over 300 priests of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church on Friday said they cannot accept the warning issued by the papal representative to celebrate Holy Mass in a uniform manner as prescribed by the synod or face consequences -- as it goes against their conscience.
Former Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal, who was acquitted by a local court in Kerala last year over rape charges by a nun, met Pope Francis in Vatican last week, a church source said in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
'We had prepared tapioca and crabs for him, and he enjoyed the Kerala cuisine thoroughly.'
The event was also attended by Prince Charles.
The nun belongs to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.
The council will help the Pope revise the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia Pastor bonus -- the Church administration which helps him in the daily governance, the Vatican said in a statement.
At a crowded beachfront mass, Pope Francis canonised Sri Lanka's first saint on Wednesday.
The Bishop's move came ahead of his appearance before the Kerala Police team on September 19 in connection with the case.
Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who was temporarily relieved of his pastoral responsibilities by Pope Francis in 2018 following allegations of rape by a nun, has resigned from the Jalandhar Bishop's post, a church source said on Thursday.
Father Dias met Biden during a 30-minute holy communion service for the US president at a hotel where he was staying in New Delhi on Saturday, ahead of the G20 summit.
Twenty priests have been booked by the police in Kochi, Kerala, for allegedly assaulting a police officer during a protest at the Bishop's House. The incident occurred on January 11, with the priests protesting against the unified Holy Mass. The police registered a case against the priests under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for unlawful assembly, rioting, and causing hurt to a public servant. The protest follows a controversy over the unified Holy Mass, which the Archbishop has defended, stating that altering decisions approved by Pope Francis is impossible.
Father Uzhunnalil, who hails from Kerala, was abducted in March by terror group Islamic State which attacked an old-age home run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in southern Yemeni city of Aden.
Francis officially cleared Mother Teresa for sainthood on December 17, 2015, recognising her "miraculous healing" of a Brazilian man with multiple brain abscesses, the Vatican said.
Unprecedented scenes of empty churches emerged from Italy and other countries of the world, as religious leaders found creative ways to address parishioners marking the holiday weekend from the confines of their homes.
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