Latest News: Vatican releases images of Pope Francis’s body, funeral set for Saturday

The Vatican has released a series of images showing Pope Francis lying in an open coffin, taken hours after his death.

The images, published this morning, capture the 88-year-old pontiff during the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff ceremony held on Monday.

The Vatican has released a series of images showing Pope Francis lying in an open coffin, taken hours after his death.

The images, published this morning, capture the 88-year-old pontiff during the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff ceremony held on Monday.

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / This photo taken on April 21, 2025 and handout on April 22, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis in his open coffin during the rite of the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff at the Chapel of Santa Marta in The Vatican. (Photo by Handout / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / VATICAN MEDIA” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / This photo taken on April 21, 2025 and handout on April 22, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis in his open coffin during the rite of the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff at the Chapel of Santa Marta in The Vatican. (Photo by Handout / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / VATICAN MEDIA” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / This photo taken on April 21, 2025 and handout on April 22, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis in his open coffin during the rite of the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff at the Chapel of Santa Marta in The Vatican. (Photo by Handout / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / VATICAN MEDIA” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
One photograph features Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo who will oversee the Holy See until a new Pope is elected, as he blesses the late Pope Francis.

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The Vatican confirmed on Monday evening that Pope Francis passed away due to complications from a stroke and heart failure.

Pope Francis’s funeral set for Saturday, world leaders expected
Pope Francis’s funeral will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced, as world leaders from US President Donald Trump to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said they would attend to honour the Catholic leader.

The Argentine pontiff, 88, died on Monday from a stroke, less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia.

His funeral, which is expected to draw huge crowds, will take place at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Saturday in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

Francis’s coffin — which he previously ordered should be of wood and zinc — will then be taken inside the church and from there to the Rome basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial.

The first so-called “general congregation” of cardinals took place on Tuesday morning, kicking off a centuries-old process that culminates in the election of a new pontiff within three weeks.

The Vatican published the first images of the pontiff in his open coffin, wearing his red papal vestments, a mitre on his head and had a rosary between his fingers.

The pope’s body was photographed during a service on Monday evening in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy, and where he died.

It will be transferred to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday at 9:00 am (0700 GMT), to lie in state.

Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary to the synod of bishops, told journalists she was “very moved” after paying her respects. She said she had felt “both sadness and gratitude for everything he gave”.

The Holy See’s official media Vatican News, released details about Francis’s last hours.

The pontiff started feeling ill Monday at around 5.30am (3.30am GMT), less than 24 hours after he greeted a crowd of faithful in St Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.