The Vatican says the funeral of Pope Francis, whose death aged 88 prompted an outpouring of grief among Catholics worldwide, will be held on Saturday.
Photos of the late pontiff in an open coffin, dressed in a red robe with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary in his hand, have been released.
Pope Francis, who spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year, died of a cerebral stroke and irreversible heart failure, doctors have said.
His successor will be chosen by the papal conclave, a gathering of cardinals younger than 80 years that will convene in two weeks.
- What Pope Francis said about death
In words written only days before his final hospitalisation in February, Pope Francis said death should not be seen as the end of life but as the beginning of eternity.
“Death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something. It is a new beginning … because eternal life, which those who love already begin to experience on earth, is the beginning of something that will never end,” Francis wrote in the preface to a book on old age by Italian cardinal Angelo Scola.
The book is to be published this week.
“For this reason, that [death] is a ‘new’ beginning, because we will live something we have never fully lived before: Eternity,” he added.
- The Sistine Chapel: What to know
One of the most famous buildings in the world, the Sistine Chapel, is set to host next month a conclave of cardinals.
That is when cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church below the age of 80 will gather to elect a new pope.
Here’s what to know about the iconic site
- The chapel, built from 1473 to 1481, was named after Pope Sixtus IV.
- Great Renaissance artist Michelangelo was commissioned to paint its astonishing ceiling frescoes, which were completed between 1508 and 1512.
- The frescoes show scenes from the Bible’s Old and New Testaments, most famously The Creation of Adam, in which God reaches with His finger to touch the outstretched hand of the first man.
- More than 20 years later, Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the awe-inspiring Last Judgement on the wall behind the altar, which was unveiled in 1541.
- Michelangelo was accused of immorality and obscenity for depicting naked figures in a church. After his death, a law was passed to cover up the offending genitalia with “modesty breeches”, which were added by an apprentice.
- From 1980 to 1994, specialists conducted one of the most ambitious art restoration projects in the world, stripping away centuries of accumulated dirt and soot that had darkened the frescoes. The results divided experts and amateurs, with some criticising the dazzling colours as too bright.
- German writer Goethe once remarked: “Without having seen the Sistine Chapel, one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving.”
Italy announces 5 days of national mourning
The government made the decision during today’s Council of Ministers meeting, according to Italian media.
During the five days, flags on public buildings will be flown at half-mast.
Days of national mourning are announced to commemorate the death of high-profile public figures or following tragic national events.
In the past, the government had declared periods of national mourning after the deaths of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in 2023, as well as after the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in the city of Genoa which killed 49 people in 2018.
- When and how did Pope Francis die?
Pope Francis died of a stroke followed by a coma and heart failure on Monday morning, the Vatican’s press office has said in a statement.
The pontiff had suffered a “previous episode of acute respiratory failure”, arterial hypertension and type II diabetes, the statement said.
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera’s Explainers team have put together a comprehensive piece detailing how the pope spent his final days before his passing yesterday.
- A rare burial papal spot
As we reported earlier, the funeral of Pope Francis will be held on Saturday in St Peter’s Square, in front of the Basilica of St Peter, where most of his predecessors rest.
But his chosen resting place is the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), one of the main four churches of Christendom in Rome.
In his final testament, Pope Francis asked to be buried “in the earth, simple, without particular decoration” and with the inscription only of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.
The last pope to be buried outside the Vatican was Leo XIII, who died in 1903.
St Mary Major, some 4km (2.5 miles) from the Vatican, was dear to Francis because of his devotion to the Virgin Mary. He prayed there before leaving and returning from each overseas trip.
It is located at the summit of the Esquiline Hill – an area that in ancient Rome was used for the burial of slaves, the poor and those condemned to death.
Nowadays, it is home to the Stazione Termini, Rome’s main railway station, and is a multiethnic, populous neighbourhood.