Pope Francis’ funeral to be held Saturday, with public viewing starting Wednesday

By NICOLE WINFIELD and COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press VATICAN CITY AP Pope Francis will be laid to rest Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter s Basilica where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history s first Latin American pontiff The cardinals met Tuesday in the Vatican s synod hall to chart the next attempts before a conclave begins to choose Francis successor as condolences poured in from around the world According to current norms the conclave must begin between May and The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at a m in St Peter s Square to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re U S President Donald Trump mentioned he and first lady Melania Trump plan to attend and Argentine President Javier Milei is also expected The Argentine pope died Monday at age after a stroke put him in a coma and led his heart to fail He had been recovering in his apartment after being hospitalized for five weeks with pneumonia He made his last inhabitants appearance Sunday delivering an Easter blessing and greeting followers from his popemobile looping around St Peter s Square His Easter appearance from the same loggia where he was introduced to the world as the first pope from the Americas on March was a fitting bookend to a -year papacy that sought to shake up the church and return it to its Gospel-mandated mission of caring for the poorest Vatican agents remember Francis He truly gave everything he had up to the end mentioned Sister Nathalie Becquart one of the highest-ranking women at the Vatican While the ordinary faithful will have an opportunity to pay their respects beginning Wednesday Vatican personnel were allowed to say their goodbyes starting Monday evening Speaking to reporters after she paid her respects Becquart marveled at Francis final Easter salute to his flock He really walked with his people she mentioned Pilgrims arrive in St Peter s Square at the Vatican Tuesday April AP Photo Francisco Seco Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi disclosed it was specifically Francis effort to promote the role of women in the church that will be one of his greatest legacies Ravasi noted that Francis chose to be buried near his favorite icon of the Madonna in a basilica across town and not in the grottoes underneath St Peter s as is typical for popes He required to be buried under the shadow of a woman in this occurrence Maria announced Ravasi the Vatican s former custom minister as he arrived for Tuesday s first meeting of cardinals That is major his desire for the church to do more for women The first images of Francis body were published Tuesday showing him in red vestments and his bishop s miter in a wooden casket with the Vatican secretary of state praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived and died Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin left prays in front of the body of Pope Francis laid out in state inside his private chapel at the Vatican Monday April Vatican Media via AP HO In his final will Francis disclosed he desired to be buried at St Mary Major Basilica which is home to the Salus Populi Romani icon of Mary Before and after every foreign trip Francis would go to the basilica to pray before the Byzantine-style painting that features an image of Mary draped in a blue robe holding the infant Jesus who in turn holds a jeweled golden book Francis stopped by the basilica on his way home from the Gemelli hospital on March after his -day stay to deliver flowers to be placed before the icon He returned April to pray before it one last time The world reacts Bells tolled in chapels churches and cathedrals around the world and flags flew at half-staff in Italy India Taiwan and the U S after Francis death was reported by the camerlengo who takes charge of the Vatican after a pope s death Soccer matches in Italy and Argentina were suspended in honor of the pope who was a lifelong fan of the San Lorenzo soccer club World leaders praised Francis for his moral leadership and compassion while ordinary faithful remembered his simplicity and humanity Like every Argentine I think he was a rebel declared -year-old Catalina Favaro who had come to pay her respects in the Buenos Aires church where Francis discovered his priestly vocation He may have been contradictory but that was nice too In East Timor where Francis final outdoor Mass drew nearly half of the population last September President Jose Ramos-Horta praised Francis courage Pope Francis was a brave man who was not afraid to speak out against the rulers of the world who seek war but do not want to seek peace Ramos-Horta announced He challenged the powerful to act with justice called nations to welcome the stranger and reminded us that our common home this Earth is a gift we must protect for future generations announced Nigerian President Bola Tinubu who is Muslim Nigeria is Africa s majority populous country and has around million Catholics representing about of the population Viewing the pope s coffin The pope s formal apartments in the Apostolic Palace and in the Santa Marta hotel were sealed Monday evening following a centuries-old ritual Cardinal Kevin Farrell who as camerlengo had the task of announcing the death and confirming it once the cause was determined presided over the rituals Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell seals the door to the papal bedroom and studio at the Vatican after the announcement of the death of Pope Francis Monday April Vatican Media via AP HO Francis chose not to live in the palace but in a two-room suite in Santa Marta on the other side of Vatican City He died there and his body was transferred to the hotel chapel in the lobby where the private viewing was underway Tuesday for Vatican executives and members of the pontifical household In changes made by Francis last year his body was not placed in three wooden coffins as it had been for previous popes Rather Francis was placed in a simplified wooden coffin with a zinc coffin inside Once in St Peter s his casket will not be put on an elevated bier as was the event with past popes but will just be be placed totally facing the pews with the Paschal candle nearby He was a pope who didn t change his path when it came to getting his hands dirty Francis vicar for Rome Cardinal Baldassarre Reina commented in a Mass in his honor For him poor people and newcomers were the sacrament of Jesus Choosing the next pope After the funeral there are nine days of official mourning known as the novendiali During this period cardinals arrive in Rome and meet privately before the conclave Vatican Swiss Guards salute a cardinal arriving for a meeting of cardinals at the Vatican Tuesday April AP Photo Andrew Medichini To give everyone time to assemble the conclave must begin to days after the sede vacante the vacant See is declared although it can start sooner if the cardinals agree Once the conclave begins cardinals vote in secret sessions in the Sistine Chapel After voting sessions the ballots are burned in a special stove Black smoke indicates that no pope has been elected while white smoke indicates that the cardinals have chosen the next head of the Catholic Church The one who has secured two-thirds of the votes wins If he accepts his electoral process is revealed by a cardinal from the loggia of St Peter s Basilica who tells the world Habemus Papam Latin for We have a pope Associated Press reporters Paolo Santalucia and Silvia Stellacci contributed Associated Press religion coverage receives sponsorship through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content