Pope’s fosters presided by Cardinal Giovanni Batistta re are concelebrated by 980 priests
Pope Francis’ funeral will take place on Saturday with tens of thousands of faithful, more than a hundred foreign official delegations and nearly 1,000 concelebrants, including cardinals, bishops and priests.
Pope Francis’ fosters are presided by the dean of the Cardinal College, Giovanni Batistta re.
The ceremony began with the entrance rite, with the deposition of the coffin with the altar in St. Peter’s Square, while the antiphon was sung in Latin « grant him, Lord, eternal rest and make a perpetual light shine. »
Extraordinary security measures were taken given the size of the funeral ceremonies.
In Rome, a strong security device is assembled, with 11,000 soldiers and members of the security forces, as well as teams from international delegations, has been mobilized.
The security device also includes shooters and explosive detection specialists.
After the ceremony in St. Peter’s Square, the body of the Supreme Pontiff will be transferred to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maior, where the Pope asked to be buried.
The procession with the coffin, between the two churches, will be done slowly, to allow the tens of thousands of people in Rome to say goodbye to Pope Francis.
