{"id":114010,"date":"2025-04-22T08:05:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T08:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/04\/22\/vatican-releases-first-images-of-pope-francis-in-open-coffin-as-cardinals-prepare-for-his-funeral\/"},"modified":"2025-04-22T08:05:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T08:05:10","slug":"vatican-releases-first-images-of-pope-francis-in-open-coffin-as-cardinals-prepare-for-his-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/vatican-releases-first-images-of-pope-francis-in-open-coffin-as-cardinals-prepare-for-his-funeral\/","title":{"rendered":"Vatican Releases First Images of Pope Francis in Open Coffin as Cardinals Prepare for His Funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 22 \u2013 The Vatican has released the first images of Pope Francis lying in state in his open coffin, dressed in a red papal robe with the mitre on his head and a rosary in his hands.<\/p>\n

The photos were taken during the rite of certification of death, held last night in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta\u2014the Pope\u2019s residence at the Vatican. <\/p>\n

Vatican News reported that \u201cduring the rite, the declaration of death was read aloud. The act was validated by Cardinal Farrell, and the ceremony lasted just under an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

This morning, cardinals are meeting in the Vatican to determine the date of Pope Francis\u2019s funeral. The meeting began at 09:00 local time (08:00 BST, 07:00 GMT). They are also expected to decide when his body will be moved to St Peter\u2019s Basilica to allow the public to pay their final respects.<\/p>\n

The late pontiff\u2019s funeral arrangements will follow a closely observed process, guided by long-standing Vatican tradition.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Attention now turns to the College of Cardinals\u2014the Catholic Church\u2019s highest-ranking officials\u2014who will soon convene in Rome to elect the next pope. The election, known as the conclave (from the Latin cum clave<\/em>, meaning \u201cwith a key\u201d), refers to the secretive, closed-door process of selecting a new pontiff.<\/p>\n

There are more than 250 cardinals worldwide from over 90 countries, though only about 135 are eligible to vote. Cardinals over the age of 80 are excluded from the election. Of those eligible, approximately 110 were appointed by Francis during his decade-long papacy and are expected to carry forward his vision of a more inclusive church.<\/p>\n

The conclave will be held in the Sistine Chapel, beneath Michelangelo\u2019s iconic ceiling. Once all non-electors and officials have exited\u2014signaled by the phrase extra omnes<\/em> (\u201ceveryone out\u201d)\u2014the doors are locked, and the solemn deliberations begin. The process traditionally starts 15 to 20 days after the death of a pope.<\/p>\n

More information on the funeral schedule and public viewing of Pope Francis\u2019s body is expected later Tuesday.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 22 \u2013 The Vatican has released the first images of Pope Francis lying in state in his open coffin, dressed in a red papal robe with the mitre on his head and a rosary in his hands. The photos were taken during the rite of certification of death, held last night in the chapel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114010\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}