Pope Francis’ coffin has arrived at St. Peter’s Basilica, where he will allow Catholics to pay their respects ahead of his funeral on Saturday, which is expected to be attended by world leaders including US President Donald Trump.
Bells rang softly as the coffin entered the basilica at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. ET) on Wednesday, and mourners in the piazza outside applauded.
The Altar of the Saints, a formal prayer of the Roman Catholic Church, is now held in the basilica.
Wednesday’s procession began with the removal of Francis’ body from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, where he lived during his papacy.
The coffin passed through Piazza Santa Marta and Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani, passed through the Bell Tower and entered St. Peter’s Basilica through the central door.
Before the procession, Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell, who is in charge of organizing the pope’s funeral and consecration, led a short mass in the Casa Santa Marta chapel with a short antiphon, or hymn of hope.
“We thank the Lord for the countless gifts he has bestowed on the Christian people through his servant Pope Francis,” the Camerlengo said in prayer.
“We ask him, in his mercy and grace, to grant the late Pope an eternal home in the Kingdom of Heaven, and to comfort the papal family, the Church in Rome and the faithful throughout the world.”
Now in St. Peter’s Basilica, the camerlegno will preside over a public service of the Divine Liturgy, which will allow participants to pay their respects to the late pontiff.
During the service, the faithful will recite several religious verses, including Psalm 22, “The Lord is my shepherd.”
During the liturgy, participants will also recite Catholic ritual prayers for the dead.
The service is expected to end with the Marian Antiphon, a prayer to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
At the end of the service, the public will be able to pay their respects to the pope, whose body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for three days.
For those wishing to visit the pope and pay their respects, the basilica will be open until midnight on Wednesday, from 7 a.m. to midnight on Thursday, and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday.
After three days of public service, Francis’ funeral will begin at 10 a.m. (4 a.m. ET) on Saturday — six days after his death. The funeral of the last pope, Pope Benedict XVI, in 2023, also took place six days after his death.
The Vatican announced that Francis’ funeral will be held outside St. Peter’s Square. Previous papal funerals have also been held outside, with the open space in front of the basilica filled with thousands of mourners.
Several world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, have confirmed they will travel to the Vatican for the service. French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are among the major European leaders to visit the Vatican.
Tens of thousands more are expected to attend. About 50,000 people attended Benedict’s funeral in 2023, while about 300,000 attended John Paul’s funeral in 2005.
Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 of a stroke and heart attack, the Vatican announced. Francis died at the Casa Santa Marta, a guesthouse near St. Peter’s Basilica, where he had lived since his election in 2013, a Vatican spokesman said.
