papal funeral rites

The Latest

Scenes from the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26, 2025.

Pope’s final journey: 11 symbolic moments from Francis’ funeral procession

Apr 27, 2025

By Victoria Cardiel

The six-kilometer (about 3.5-mile) funeral procession that carried Pope Francis from St. Peter’s to St. Mary Major was filled with... Read more

Pallbearers carry the wooden coffin of Pope Francis, marked with a cross, into St. Peter's Square for the funeral Mass on April 26, 2025.

Pope Francis’ funeral: A global farewell to a humble shepherd

Apr 26, 2025

By Courtney Mares

Under the bright Roman sun and amid crowds extending down the Via della Conciliazione, the funeral Mass unfolded within the... Read more

Before the wooden coffin is closed, Pope Benedict XVI’s personal secretary Archbishop Georg Gänswein and Monsignor Diego Giovanni Ravelli, the Vatican’s lead master of ceremonies for papal liturgies, place a white veil over the late pope’s face. The action on Jan. 4, 2023, is part of the funeral rites for popes.

Vatican simplifies funeral rite for popes

Nov 20, 2024

By Hannah Brockhaus

The second edition of the “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis” (“Order of Funerals for Roman Pontiffs”) is a revision of the... Read more