Italian
This morning the first cardinal congregation took place and set the date and arrangements for the transfer of the body of Pope Francis to St. Peter’s Basilica and the celebration of the funeral Mass. The College of Cardinals mandated Monsignor Diego Ravelli – Archbishop titular of Recanati – Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations to carry out the instructions.
Translation in English: The transfer to St. Peter’s Basilica. Specifically, tomorrow, Wednesday, April 23 at 9:00 a.m., the coffin with the deceased Roman Pontiff Francis will be carried from the Chapel of the Domus Sanctæ Marthæ to the Papal Basilica of St. Peter, as provided for in the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis (nn. 41-65). After the moment of prayer, presided over by His Eminence the Most Reverend Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, the transfer begins. The procession will pass through St. Martha’s Square and the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs; from the Arch of the Bells, it will exit into St. Peter’s Square and enter the Vatican Basilica through the central door. At the Confession altar, the Camerlengo Cardinal will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, after which visits to the body of the Roman Pontiff will begin.
The funeral. Exactly after three days during which the body will be visited in prayer by the faithful from all over the world “on Saturday, 26th April at 10.00, the first day of the Novendiali (the nine-day mourning period following the death of the Pope), the funeral Mass of the Roman Pontiff Francis will be celebrated in the square of St. Peter’s Basilica, according to the provisions of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis (nos. 82-109). The funeral liturgy will be presided over by His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals. Those who can concelebrate are: the Patriarchs and Cardinals, who will be present by 9.00 in the Chapel of St. Sebastian in the Basilica, wearing the white damask mitre; the Archbishops and Bishops, who will be present by 8.30 at the Braccio di Costantino, wearing an amice, alb, cincture, and plain white mitre; the Priests, who will be present by 8.30 directly in their reserved area in St. Peter’s Square, where they will put on the amice, alb, cincture, and red stole that they will have brought with them. At the end of the Eucharistic Celebration, the Last commendation and the Valedictio will take place. Following this, the body of the Roman Pontiff will be carried to St. Peter’s Basilica and from there to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial”.
The general congregation. In the first general congregation of the College of Cardinals this morning, about 60 cardinals were present. The College of Cardinals has also decided to suspend the scheduled beatification celebrations until the decision of the new Roman Pontiff. The next congregation will take place tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m.
The “sede vacante”. During the period of “sede vacante,” the government of the Church passes to the Camerlengo Cardinal, currently Kevin Joseph Farrell, and the College of Cardinals: but only for ordinary administration, because no one can “replace” the Pope, whose “absolute power” comes from God. The norms of the Code of Canon Law on the “sede vacante” (that is, the period between the death of a Pope and the election of his successor) concern only “current affairs” and the conduct of the Conclave, which must be convened no earlier than 15 and no later than 20 days from the date of the Pontiff’s death. To regulate all this, there are the apostolic constitution Universi dominici gregis by John Paul II and the apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium by Pope Francis, published on March 19, 2019, which has incorporated and updated the previous one.
The conclave. The phase of the election of the new Pontiff will open between May 6 and 10. We are waiting for the official communication regarding the date. Currently, the voting cardinals who are part of the College of Cardinals in the Conclave are 135, representing 65 countries. Only cardinals under the age of 80 can participate in the Conclave. To elect the new Pope, a two-thirds majority is needed, which is 90 votes. The College of Cardinals, in its entirety, counts 262 cardinals, of which 135 are electors and 117 are non-electors as they are over eighty years old. Among the countries that have seen the appointment of a cardinal for the first time are Mongolia, Cape Verde, Tonga, Timor, South Sudan, Algeria, Guatemala, Haiti. From the perspective of continental belonging, the college of cardinals participating in the Conclave includes: 59 elector cardinals from Europe (of which 19 are Italian), 16 from North America, 21 from Central and South America, 16 from Africa, 20 from Asia, and 3 from Oceania.
The thanks of the Presidency of the Italian Episcopal Conference. In the letter of thanks from Italian prelates, they recalled how much the Pope leaves us as an example to always carry with us: “[…] ‘We all need each other, none of us is an island, […] we can only build the future together, without excluding anyone,’ was one of the most impactful teachings of the Pontificate, which went through the drama of the pandemic, with its burden of pain, loneliness, and death. The march of the Holy Father, alone, in silence, on an empty St. Peter’s Square, on the occasion of the “Extraordinary Moment of Prayer in Time of Epidemic” (March 27, 2020), remains etched in the minds and hearts of all. Just as the bowed head and tears in front of the Immaculate, to whom he often entrusted the anguish for the drama of wars, asking everyone to become artisans of peace, every day, in the folds of daily life, in every area of life. The Church in Italy thanks him, in a special way, for the gift of the Synodal Path and the unceasing encouragement to move forward together. And today, together, it entrusts its Pastor, who truly loved his own to the end, to the tender and merciful embrace of the Father”.
Photo: Copyright Vatican Media
