Catholic Church
Pope Francis forgoes two coffins for his funeral
The Pope renounces pomp: a simple wooden coffin instead of three nested coffins made of cypress, zinc and oak should be enough for him and his successors.
Just a simple wooden coffin and a final resting place outside the Vatican: the ritual of the papal funeral has been significantly simplified at the request of Pope Francis. In the future, his own remains and those of his successors will only be buried in a single coffin instead of the usual three coffins, as the Vatican announced on Wednesday.
The catafalque, a high frame on which papal bodies were previously laid out, will also be eliminated. Instead, the coffin will be displayed at ground level in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis wants a simple grave as a sign of his humility
The simplified ritual is intended to show that the pope’s funeral is “that of a shepherd and disciple of Christ and not that of a powerful man in this world,” Archbishop Diego Ravelli, who is responsible for the liturgical celebrations of the popes, told Vatican News.
Another change: the confirmation of death should no longer take place in the Pope’s room, but in his private chapel. The body should be placed in the coffin immediately afterwards.
The new rules are set out in the new edition of the “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis” published by the Liturgy Office and were approved by Francis in April. The book replaces a 2000 edition whose regulations were used at the funeral of John Paul II in 2005.
Burial will take place in central Rome instead of the Vatican
Unlike his predecessor Benedict XVI. The Argentine does not want his final resting place in the grottoes of St. Peter’s Basilica – but in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in the center of Rome. This will make Francis the first pope in more than a hundred years to be buried outside the Vatican walls.
Since his election as head of the Catholic Church in 2013, Francis has abandoned several ostentatious papal traditions and instead sought closeness to the faithful. He moved from the Apostolic Palace to a small apartment in a guest house.
The 88-year-old Francis is in a wheelchair after health problems in the past, but is currently in good health. In September he undertook a twelve-day trip through Asia and Oceania – the longest trip of his pontificate.
AFP
urb
Source: Stern
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