Off The Record
Pope Francis Has Passed — Here’s What Follows During The Vatican’s Mourning Period
Here are some things that will occur in the days ahead as the 1.3 billion Catholics throughout the world continue to grieve over Pope Francis’ passing.
Reports of the 88-year-old’s death emerged earlier today, two months after his hospitalization for an infection that led to pneumonia in both lungs and renal failure. On Easter Sunday, he spent his last hours blessing hundreds of people in St. Peter’s Square.
Nine days of official mourning will now take place, but the conclave, a historic event in which cardinals will convene in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to select the next pope, won’t start for at least 15 days.
At Francis’s bedside, the Vatican Chamberlain, who is currently Cardinal Kevin Farrell, will first formally declare him dead by shouting his name three times.
The papal fisherman’s ring will be taken off his finger and destroyed with a hammer, and the Pope’s office and private quarters will be sealed.
After that, the Pope will be carried to St. Peter’s Basilica, where he will lie in state for three days while wearing crimson robes and a white mitre on his head.
at contrast to the majority of his predecessors, Francis will be buried at the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome’s Esquilino neighborhood after his funeral, which is scheduled for six days from now.
Cardinals can only vote in the conclave if they are 80 years of age or under, which now makes 138 out of 252.
Until a new pope is selected by a two-thirds majority, cardinals will be confined to the Chapel and denied access to technology or the outside world.
Technically, conclaves can take weeks, months, or even years, but the last one, when Pope Benedict resigned in 2013, lasted only a day.
These days, they typically only last a few days. Cardinals may choose to use a majority vote if, after around two weeks of voting, no new pope has been selected.
The ‘Pro eligendo Romano Pontificie’ Mass for the election of a pope kicks off the first day of the conclave.
In the afternoon, cardinals will assemble in the Apostolic Palace’s Pauline Chapel before filing into the Sistine Chapel.
The Latin hymn Veni Creator, which asks the saints and the Holy Spirit to assist them in making their choice, and the Litany of Saints will be sang as they proceed.
Each cardinal places his hand on the Gospels while standing beneath Michelangelo’s “Creation” and before his “Last Judgment,” promising “with the greatest fidelity” to keep the conclave’s specifics a secret.
Maltese Cardinal Prosper Grech offers a reflection on the traits required in the next pope and the difficulties facing the church.
“Extra omnes,” which means “all out” in Latin, is then cried by the liturgical celebration master.
The vote can then start after everyone has left save for the cardinals.
‘Eligo in summen pontificem,’ which means ‘I elect as Supreme Pontiff,’ is written on a piece of paper on which each cardinal writes his selection.
“I call as my witness, Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected,” they say as they make their way one by one to the altar.
The ballot is inserted into an oval silver and gold urn after being folded and set on a circular plate.
Previously, the ballots were kept in a single chalice.
Pope John Paul II, however, changed the conclave in 1996, requiring three vessels: one for chapel ballots, another for the Vatican’s sick cardinals who may cast their votes from their beds, and a third to keep the ballots once they were counted.
Tens of thousands of Catholics will be in St. Peter’s Square outside, and millions more will be watching on television worldwide, to witness smoke rise from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney following each round of voting.
White smoke indicates a new pope has been chosen, while black smoke indicates no choice has been made.
Burned votes produce smoke, and to ensure that the smoke is always the correct color, a dye is added.
The master of liturgical ceremonies will enter the Sistine Chapel when the cardinals have selected someone from their ranks.
The prospective choice will be asked: “Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?”
The cardinal will next be asked what name they would like to be recognized by, if they respond, “I accept.”
After receiving their recognizable white cassock, the new pope will be approached by each cardinal to take an oath of allegiance.
After that, the pope will step out onto the balcony with a view of St. Peter’s Square to speak to the joyful faithful for the first time.
Preceding him will be Dominique Mamberti, the Cardinal Protodeacon. He will announce “Habemus Papam”, the Latin for “We have a new pope.”
On Valentine’s Day, Francis was initially brought to the hospital due to respiratory issues.
One of the four main papal basilicas is the location of the pope’s desired burial. From Honorious III in 1216 until Clement IX in 1669, seven popes were laid to rest there.
However, the majority are interred beneath St. Peter’s, including Pope Benedict, Francis’s direct predecessor.
In 2023, Francis disclosed that he had chosen to be buried somewhere else.
Francis will be buried in a single wooden casket lined with zinc, according to revised ceremonies announced last year, which is another departure from custom.
Before and after journeys abroad, Pope Francis would pray in the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica.
He prayed in front of a revered picture of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus throughout his more than 100 trips to the church from the fifth century.
The Vatican said today that Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, passed away at the age of 88.
When Francis was elected pope in 2013, he became the first Latin American pope in history. He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires.
After a 38-day stay in Rome’s Gemelli hospital due to a respiratory crisis that progressed to double pneumonia, he was released last month.
Hours after his eagerly anticipated Easter Sunday performance in St. Peter’s Square, his death was officially announced.
His last images will break your heart…
In his final public appearance, Pope Francis stood on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025, offering the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing. Despite his frailty, he delivered a heartfelt message emphasizing compassion and unity:
“How much contempt is sometimes shown towards the weakest, the marginalized, the migrants! On this day, I would like us to once again have hope and trust in others, even in those who are not close to us or come from distant lands, with customs, ways of life, ideas, and habits different from our own. Because we are all children of God.”
This poignant moment was captured in a photograph showing Pope Francis during the impartation of the ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing, a visual that has since been widely shared.
Just hours after this appearance, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88. His final blessing and words have left a lasting impact, symbolizing his enduring commitment to inclusivity and compassion.
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