Pope Francis has made papal funeral rituals more straightforward to emphasise his role as a humble pastor instead of a “person of power,” as the Vatican stated on Wednesday.
Traditionally, deceased popes have been placed in three coffins—one cypress, another lead, and a third elm—stacked within one another before burial.
Going forward, there will only be a single, uncomplicated coffin made of wood and zinc. Also, the confirmation of the pope’s death will take place in his private chapel rather than the room where he passes away, and his body will be immediately placed in a coffin.
The open coffin will then be displayed for veneration by the faithful within St. Peter’s Basilica, ending the previous custom of displaying papal bodies on an elevated platform supported by cushions.
With these new guidelines, Francis aims to demonstrate that “the funeral of the Roman pontiff is that of a pastor and disciple of Christ, and not of a powerful man of this world,” according to Diego Ravelli, the master of pontifical liturgical celebrations, as reported by Vatican News.
This revised “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis,” which Pope Francis approved in late April, replaces a 2000 edition utilised for John Paul II’s funeral in 2005. Last year, Francis mentioned his intention to simplify papal funerals. At 87, he wishes to be buried not in St. Peter’s Basilica alongside his immediate predecessors but in a basilica in Rome.
He will be the first pope in over a century to be interred outside the Vatican.
Despite facing health issues in recent years that have necessitated the use of a wheelchair, the pope—who will turn 88 on December 17—seems to be in good health and continues to travel.
Since assuming his role as the leader of the Catholic Church in 2013, Francis has aimed to eliminate the grandeur of rituals in favour of simplicity, choosing to reside in a modest residence within the Vatican instead of the opulent apostolic palace.
