Mourning for Pope Francis: crowds flock to St. Peter's Basilica!

Mourning for Pope Francis: crowds flock to St. Peter's Basilica!

Petersdom, Rom, Italien - On April 24, 2025, countless believers have the opportunity to say goodbye to Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. This opportunity was used by tens of thousands of people who found themselves in kilometers in front of St. Peter's Square in order to take a last look at the late head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope died on Easter Monday at the age of 88. His open coffin is in front of the main altar of the basilica.

So far, around 61,000 grieving farewell has already taken away, and the queue continues to grow, even despite the rainy weather. It was originally planned to keep the basilica open until midnight, but St. Peter's Basilica remained accessible to visitors in the night from Thursday to Friday to meet the big rush. The listing will end on Friday evening and the coffin will be closed for the funeral service on Saturday.

Planning for the conclave and funeral service

The cardinals have already gathered at several official meetings to advise on the upcoming election of a new Pope. This is the third meeting since Francis' death, which took place on Thursday. A central topic of the consultations was the time of the conclusion, which is expected to take place in the Sistine Chapel in early May. The exact duration of the sedis vacancy, i.e. the time until the choice of a new Pope, can be different, but usually no important decisions may be made.

146 cardinals entitled to vote, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who is not entitled to vote due to health reasons, will take part in the election. Becciu himself has explained that he wants to participate in the conclave, but is managed as a "non-voter". ZDF reports that the new Pope must be a reconciler, which indicates the great challenges in front of which the church is currently placed.

international funeral ceremony

For the funeral service on Saturday, around 170 delegations from heads of state and government from all over the world are expected, among them US President Donald Trump. The security forces and civil protection are working intensively on the security concepts for this important day. The burial of Pope Francis is to take place in the non-public framework in the basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. In the coming days, trade fairs will be read for the late Pope every day, who can be visited publicly and are part of a nine -day mourning time that begins on Saturday and ends on May 4th.

The death of Pope Francis not only marks the end of an era, but also brings big changes for the Roman Catholic Church. The new Pope is chosen on the first afternoon of the conclusion, with a two -thirds majority being needed. The process of choice can take a few hours to several years, which underlines the importance and influence of this decision.

In the past few days, the profile of the new Pope has also been discussed, whereby many cardinals have given unofficial names. These consultations are crucial to determine the future direction of the church in a time of change. Traditionally, the Pope has no deputy, his power is fully and indistinguishable, which provides additional challenges for the time of the Sedis vacancy and the upcoming elections.