The casket with the lifeless body of Pope Francis has been placed in front of the tomb of St. Peter and facing the imposing Bernini baldachin, after a procession that took place from the Casa Santa Marta, his residence, to St. Peter's Basilica, led by the cardinals present in Rome while being closed off by the people who were closest to the pontiff, his secretaries, and his assistants, to the solemn tolling of the bells.
In St. Peter's Basilica, the casket will be exhibited for three days for the faithful to bid farewell to the first Latin American pontiff, whose papacy was distinguished by being alongside the most disadvantaged, vulnerable, and marginalized, and his constant appeals for peace.
Unlike his predecessors, his body will not be placed on a catafalque for the lying in state at the explicit request of this spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, who inspired devotion but irked traditionalists during his 12 years at the helm of the Catholic Church.
Hundreds of faithful have been waiting since early Wednesday morning in a long line to bid farewell to Pope Francis, who returns to St. Peter's Square, where he imparted the Urbi et Orbi blessing on Easter Sunday, hours before his death at 88 years old from a stroke, at Casa Santa Marta.
Rome is prepared, amid tight security measures, to welcome tens of thousands of Catholics with the expectation that more than 200,000 people will gather at St. Peter's Square (the number that paid tribute to Benedict XVI) to pay their respects before his open wooden and zinc casket, adorned with a red chasuble and a white mitre, holding a rosary in his hands. Heads of State will attend the funeral on Saturday at St. Peter's Square.
Francis's funeral liturgy coincides with the celebrations of the Holy Year that the Pope inaugurated in December, which has increased visits to the city. The Jubilee of Hope, the Catholic event held every 25 years, continues uninterrupted. It will end on January 6, 2026.
Rome expects between 150 and 170 foreign delegations
U.S. President Donald Trump, whom Francis criticized for his anti-immigrant policies. Argentine Javier Milei, who has even insulted his compatriot in the past, will also attend the funeral.
Other expected leaders include Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Ecuadorian Daniel Noboa, and French Emmanuel Macron, as well as Spain's King Felipe VI and the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, among others, reports Afp.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi stated that authorities expect the arrival of between 150 and 170 foreign delegations in Rome, as well as tens of thousands more individuals.
Moment of silence in South American football
Matches in the group stages of the Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana will observe a minute of silence this week, in new tributes from the world of football to the "last captain of the Church" like his beloved club San Lorenzo de Almagro, reports Afp.
"He had to come," said 33-year-old Mexican Ana Montoya to Afp, waiting her turn with a golden cross and a rosary hanging from her neck, to bid farewell in person to Francis, "a member of the family."
"He represented what the Church should be," she added.
Brazilian priest Bruno Átila, 38, was caught off guard by the news of the death as he was preparing to travel to Italy for the canonization of Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint, now suspended.
"We hoped to see him and meet with him at some point," explained Átila, for whom Francis brought to Rome "this way of being the Church in Latin America" and opened a "new window" by emphasizing issues such as hospitality or compassion.
Faced with the expected human tide, authorities deployed several measures on Wednesday: metal barriers to manage the arrival of visitors, distribution of water bottles, and an increase in security checks, among others.
Rome is gearing up to welcome tens of thousands of Catholics in the coming days. When his predecessor Benedict XVI passed away on December 31, 2022, 200,000 people paid their respects before his casket.
But with his austere and cordial style, the pope from "the end of the world" stirred up greater popular fervor during his 12-year pontificate, which also earned him criticism from the more conservative sector of the Catholic Church.
A sea of faithful breaks into applause as the casket passes by
Pope Francis's remains rest in St. Peter's Basilica, where hundreds of thousands of faithful can bid him a final farewell starting this Wednesday.
Francis's simple wooden casket, open, was carried in a 500-meter procession from the Santa Marta residence, where he passed away on Monday at 88 years old, to St. Peter's. It was accompanied by cardinals and Swiss Guards, to the prayers and tolling of bells.
Hundreds of faithful were waiting from early morning in the homonymous square to pay their respects and broke into applause.
Starting at 11:00 a.m. (09:00 GMT), they will be able to access the lying in state until next Friday.
The images captured throughout the day
Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell swings a censer around the body of Pope Francis inside St. Peter's Basilica, where he will lie in state for three days, on April 23, 2025.ANDREW MEDICHINI | AFP
The Camerlengo: "With great emotion, we accompany the remains"
Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell sprinkled holy water over the casket with the mortal remains and then read: "With great emotion, we accompany the remains of our beloved Pope Francis from this chapel to the Vatican Basilica, where he exercised his ministry as bishop of the Church of Rome and apostle of the universal Church," reports Efe.
Meanwhile, hundreds of media outlets from around the world capture this moment from the Braccio di Carlomagno, the terrace above the colonnade of St. Peter's, and the faithful wait gathered near the square to bid him a final farewell starting at 11:00 a.m. local time (9:00 GMT).
Inside the basilica, bishops and cardinals were seated, as well as Vatican staff, to listen to the Word liturgy to be celebrated by the Camerlengo.