Pope Francis’ coffin will be sealed in a liturgical rite this evening ahead of his solemn funeral, set to take place the next morning on Saturday, April 26.
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Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo, will preside at the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin beginning at 8 p.m. Rome time April 25, the Vatican announced. After his death on April 21, the pope’s body — dressed in red liturgical vestments with the miter and pallium — had been placed in a simple wooden coffin with a zinc lining.
Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re, Pietro Parolin, Roger Mahony, Domenique Mamberti, Mauro Gambetti, Baldassare Reina, and Konrad Krajewski have been invited to attend the ceremony, according to Vatican News. Other Holy See officials will be present to assist with the ceremony.
The liturgy closing the coffin will end the three days of Pope Francis’ lying in state at St. Peter’s Basilica, during which a massive number of Catholics from around the world have come to pay their respects. As of Thursday evening, an estimated 90,000 people have entered St. Peter’s Basilica — many waiting hours in line — to catch a glimpse of the late pope.
According to a booklet provided by the Holy See that lays out the liturgy, the master of pontifical liturgical celebrations, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, will read what is known as the “rogito,” or deed, a document summarizing the life and works of the pope that “recalls [Francis’] life and his most important works, for which we give thanks to God the Father.”
After the reading of the deed, the Canticle of Zechariah will be sung. Then Ravelli will offer prayers as a preface to covering Pope Francis’ face with a white silk veil.
“May his face, which has lost the light of this world, be forever illuminated by the true light whose inexhaustible source is in you,” the prayers include.
After covering Pope Francis’ face, the celebrant — Farrell — will sprinkle the pope’s body with holy water. Then Ravelli will place in the coffin a bag containing coins and medals minted during Francis’ pontificate, and a metal tube with a copy of the rogito, after having affixed the seal of the Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.
The zinc lid will be placed on Francis’ coffin. On the lid is a cross, Pope Francis’ coat of arms, and a plaque bearing the name of the pontiff, the length of his life, and the length of his ministry as pope.
The zinc lining will then be soldered and the seals of the Cardinal Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, of the Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, and of the Chapter of St. Peter will be pressed in. The wooden coffin will also then be closed; on the wooden lid are a cross and Francis’ coat of arms.
An antiphon, several psalms, and the Regina Coeli (for the Easter season) are then prayed.
The fact that Francis will have only a single coffin represents a departure from previous tradition — prior to reforms put in place by Pope Francis in 2024, popes had three nested coffins: one of cypress, one of lead, and one of oak, each with its own symbolism and function.
The new papal funeral process instituted only months ago by Pope Francis stemmed from a desire “to simplify and adapt some rites so that the celebration of the funeral of the bishop of Rome better expresses the Church’s faith in the risen Christ, eternal Shepherd,” Ravelli has previously said.
The funeral itself, called the “Missa poenitentialis,” will be celebrated at 10 a.m. local time April 26 in St. Peter’s Square and marks the first day of the “Novendiales” — nine consecutive days of mourning for the pope.
Following the funeral, Pope Francis will be interred in the Basilica of St. Mary Major at his request, because of his strong devotion to Mary.
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
