Death of the Pope: Guests from all over the world with the burial of Francis

Pope Francis’ burial becomes the great meeting point of world politics. Dozens of heads of state and government as well as representatives of other religions will be expected for the funerals next Saturday. For the first time since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump will be back in Europe. On the edge of the burial, there is also “funeral diplomacy”, as encounters are called on such occasions. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will not be there. Because of the war war on Ukraine, he would have to fear the arrest.

The Pontifex from Argentina, which had led the Catholic Church for more than twelve years, died on Easter Monday at 7.35 a.m. after a long illness. The body in the chapel of his residence Santa Marta is still laid out in the Vatican. From Wednesday onwards, believers from all over the world can say goodbye to St. Peter’s Basilica. Francis turned 88. Ultimately, he died of a brain.

Last rest in Marienkirche

Francis will not find his last rest on Saturday – the most important church of Christianity – but in the significantly smaller Marienkirche Santa Maria Maggiore near the main train station in Rome. That was his express wish. In the will, he also stated this in writing. Santa Maria Maggiore is also a papal basilica. Finally, however, a Pope was buried there more than 350 years ago.

So far, only cardinals, members of the curia and employees of the Vatican have been able to say goodbye to the late Pontifex. The body has been laid out in Casa Santa Marta since Monday evening, the guest house of the Vatican. The Pope wears a red robe and a white bishop’s mitra. A rosary is wrapped around the folded hands. On the right and left, a Swiss guard wakes up. The Vatican also published photos of it.

Believers can say goodbye to Friday evening

On Wednesday, the body will be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica in a solemn procession. There, believers from all over the world can say goodbye to the open coffin by Friday evening. Tens of thousands are expected. Because of the Holy Year 2025, Rome is still fuller than usual in Easter week. According to estimates, around a million tourists are in the Italian capital. Worldwide, more than 1.4 billion people are committed to Catholic faith.

The burial is then on Saturday. After a large funeral mass on St. Peter’s Square, the coffin is brought back to St. Peter’s Basilica and then to the Santa Maria Maggiore. As early as June 2022, the Argentinian stated in his now published will that he was buried there. It also says: “The grave must be in the earth, simply, without special decoration and with the only inscription: Franciscus.”

From Germany Steinmeier and Scholz

State guests from all over the world are expected. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the executive Chancellor Olaf Scholz come from Germany, and the designated Chancellor Friedrich Merz is not there.

From Argentina, Francis’ homeland, traces President Javier Milei. The other guests include heads of state from France and Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron and Wolodymyr Selenskyj. Prince William travels for the British royal family. King Charles III. was the penultimate state guest that Francis received for an audience. After him, only US vice JD Vance came, less than 24 hours before the Pope’s death.

The Kremlin rejected speculation about Putin’s participation. “The president does not have such plans,” said a Kremlin spokesman. There has been an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against the Russian President since 2023. When landing in Italy, Putin would have to expect the arrest. Francis had tried to impart war between Russia and Ukraine for more than three years – without success.

Living rooms and study now sealed

On Monday evening, the death of the 88-year-old was officially found in the Vatican as part of a one-hour rite. Then the body was placed in the coffin. The death certificate was read for this. Cardinal treasurer Kevin Farrell certified her. The Pope’s living spaces and his study in the Apostolic Palace were sealed. Only the new Pontifex can break these seals.

On Francis’ definition, the funeral celebrations will take place in a smaller style than with his predecessors – even as the most recently deceased German Pope Benedict XVI. Another innovation is that the papal bishop’s staff is no longer next to the coffin as a symbol of rule.

Conclave probably begins in early May

The conclave for the election of the new Pope probably begins in early May – again in the Sistine chapel. 135 cardinals from all over the world are entitled to vote – however, two already canceled their trips to Rome for health reasons. So there were 133 cardinals, including three Germans: the cardinal of Munich and Freising, Reinhard Marx, the Cardinal of Cologne, Rainer-Maria Woelki and the Cardinal of Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller.

The electoral courses are strictly secret. The conclave can be over after a few hours, but also days: there is no time limit. To choose from, the new Pontifex needs a two -thirds majority. When he is chosen, white smoke rises from a chimney. Until then, the smoke is black.

A short time later, the new Pope on the Mittelloggia of St. Peter’s Basilica showed itself to the public for the first time. He is announced with the words “Habemus Papam” (we have a Pope “). The current period up to the election is referred to as a sedis vacancy, the” time of the empty chair “. During this time, no important decisions may be made in the Vatican.