MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pope's wake ends with sealing of coffin

The former Archbishop of Buenos Aires will be buried early Saturday as per his wishes ooutside the Vatican (Pic EFE)

St. Peter's Square opened early Saturday to the public for Pope Francis' funeral, expecting over 200,000 attendees and delegations from 130 countries, including 50 top-ranking world leaders. Notable attendees included Argentina’s President Javier Milei, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella, and US President Donald Trump.

Following the mass, a funeral procession was to carry Francis’ coffin through Rome to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for the first papal burial outside the Vatican since 1903. The previous day, a private ceremony sealed the coffin after 250,000 people paid respects during a three-day wake.

The sealing, led by Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell, included placing a silk veil over Francis’ face, holy water sprinkling, and adding coins, medals, and a rogito (record of his life). Enhanced security was implemented due to the Jubilee and large crowds.

The main access of the Via della Conciliazione opened shortly after 6 am local time as the faithful flowed in for a funeral to be attended by delegations from more than 130 countries and international organizations, including King Felipe VI of Spain, Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, as well as acting German chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Local authorities expect some 200,000 people at St. Peter's Square and its surroundings.

Some 250,000 people paid their respects before the coffin of Pope Francis during the three-day funeral chapel in St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican announced Friday. The first Latin American pontiff, who died on Monday at the age of 88, thus surpassed the 195,000 people who said a final farewell to his predecessor, Benedict XVI, after his death on December 31, 2020.

The Argentine Jesuit's coffin was sealed in a private ceremony Friday presided over by the Cardinal Camerlengo, Kevin Joseph Farrell. The event marked the end of the public wake in St. Peter's Basilica after a silent prayer.