The Pope's funeral is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square, to be led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.
Glimpses of Pope Francis when he appeared for the first time, April 6, 2025, since his return to the Vatican after spending 38 days at the Gemelli hospital in Rome, recovering from a serious lung illness.
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.
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 shaped the Church he led. And in death, his reforms shape his farewell.
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.
The mourning will be observed across the country on April 22 and 23, and again on the day of the Pope's funeral.
While the Pope "continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair" he is "in more pain than yesterday," it added.
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