In the Vatican, the ritual for the burial of the popes has been greatly simplified. Accordingly, Pope Francis announced Wednesday that the late pontiff will no longer lie open openly in St. Peter’s Basilica for the final greetings of the faithful.
Benedict XVI was the last pope to be placed on a catafalque outside the coffin, Francis explained in the interview for the book “El sucesor” (The Successor).
He had already spoken to the master of ceremonies and removed these and many other matters from the papal funeral ritual.
In the future, popes should be “buried like any other child of the Church,” Francis said. “With dignity, but not on pillows,” emphasized the Argentine Jesuit, known for his modest lifestyle.
No separate ritual for closing the coffin
The previous funeral ritual was “overloaded,” Francis said. In the future there will no longer be a separate ritual for closing the coffin. For himself, he wanted his body immediately transferred to the Roman Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore after the funerals in the Vatican.
The Pope has indicated several times in the past that he does not want to be buried in St. Peter’s Basilica, like his immediate predecessors, but in Santa Maria Maggiore. Francis has visited Rome’s largest church, St. Mary’s, more than 100 times. Before and after his international travels, he always prays in the basilica before the icon of the Virgin Mary “Salus Populi Romani”.
Source: Krone
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