What is the protocol when a Pope dies?

As soon as a Pope’s death is declared, a succession of procedures and rituals designed to ensure the dignity of the occasion and a transition without starter is automatically set.

Everything is planned so that there are no surprises, misunderstandings or blank spaces. While the new pontiff is not elected, it is up to Camerlengo – the “employee of the sovereign Chamber”, cardinal responsible for the administration of the Vatican’s goods and treasury, in this case the 77 -year -old American Ireland Kevin Joseph Farrell, appointed by Francisco in February 2019 – directing the events.

In fact, it is he who, with the help of the head of the Small State Health Department, checks the Pope’s death. According to the tradition, this is lightly beating the slightness with a small silver hammer on the deceased’s head and calling its name baptism.

The Pope’s body is then dressed in a white casula. He is then taken to his private chapel in the Apostolic Palace, where a small ceremony with a restricted circle of church members and family members of the deceased is held. For this ceremony, the Pope is dressed again, this time in the incarnate, with the miter and the pallium beside the body.

It is also the Camerlengo who collects private papers and has the pontiff’s quarters seal, so that there is no interference or moved on the spot – perhaps a trace of the days when the popes were often murdered following power struggles.

It then destroys, with a silver scissors and a ceremonial hammer, the seal and the fisherman’s ring, a prop that all the popes use and that displays the image of the apostle Peter, the fisherman who was converted by Jesus into « fisherman of men. » Unlike his predecessors, Francisco opted for a silver and not gold ring.

Only after these steps have been fulfilled, the College of Cardinals is notified by the Vicar of Rome and issued the official statement of the Vatican, which marks the beginning of the period of vagar thirst – In other words, where the throne of St. Peter is empty. In the square, the resounding bell of the Basilica mourning that the Pope died.

Simplification of Rites

The autopsy of the corpse is not allowed. Traditionally, the body was placed within three overlapping coffins – one of cypress wood, one of lead and the other of olm wood (or oak). Once again, Francisco innovated, giving instructions to be just a wooden coffin with an inner zinc coating.

The Argentine Pope proceeded the renovation of the funeral rites of the pontiffs in 2023, a few months after the death of Bento XVI. True to his vote of poverty, he promoted the simplification of fostering so as not to differentiate himself from those of a simple bishop. Another important aspect is to allow it to be buried outside the Vatican. According to the desire manifested by him, his remains will stand in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where Francisco liked to pray before an image of Our Lady with the baby Jesus on his lap.

The new rules were gathered in the book Ordo Exequerum Romani Pontificis (Rules for the fosters of the Pontiff of Rome), made in collaboration with Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Master of Vatican Liturgical Ceremonies. According to this dignity, the changes aimed to « emphasize the fact that the funeral of the pontiff of Rome is overcoat of a pastor and disciple of Christ and not so much of a powerful man of this world. »

Last tribute

It is up to the College of Cardinals to determine the day and time when Francis’ body will be placed in the sight of everyone in the Basilica of St. Peter. In a final lesson of humility, the_papa gave instructions so that the coffin would not be deposited in a pedestal, but directly on the floor, with a paschal candle nearby.

The coffin lid displays Francisco’s coat of arms, a shield with the Jesuit monogram, where the words are read: “Miserando Atque Eligendo” (“Having had mercy, he called him”), a quote from the gospels.

O_Funeral and burial should occur between four and six days after death. It is Camerlengo who leads the procession that takes the body to the basilica, to the sound of the songs of the Litania dos Santos.

As always, many thousands are expected to have agreed to St. Peter to pay one last tribute. Francis’s popularity is no secret to anyone.

“The coffin is closed the night before the funeral,” explains an article from the The New York Times. “The Pope’s face is covered with a white silk veil, and he is buried with a bag of coin coins during his pontificate and an enclosure with a ‘Rogito’or ‘Scripture’, summarily listing details of your life and pontificate. THE rogite It is read aloud before the coffin is closed. ”

Another copy of this document – which consists of one sheet – is stored in the Vatican archives.

After the burial begins the nine -day mourning period, known as novamdiales.

The conclave

The starting shot of the race to the empty throne is given by the Dean of the Cardinal College, the Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, when summoning the cardinals to the conclave.

Only cardinals under 80 can vote (and are therefore eligible) and it takes a majority of two thirds plus a vote to elect the new Pope. The « voters » are installed in the house of Santa Marta, sent by John Paul II, to realize that the cardinals had to be distributed, in a something improvised, by the rooms available in the Apostolic Palace.

The meetings take place at the closed door in the famous Sistine Chapel, which these days is closed to the public. It is under the famous ceiling painted by Miguel Ângelo at the request of Pope Sisto IV that the cardinals choose the new head of the church. The fresh judgment of the final judgment, on the altar wall, certainly helps to remember that this is a decision that cannot be made lightly.