Pope Francis’s funeral to take place on Saturday as Vatican releases images of open coffin – live

Kensington Palace said the decision on William’s attendance follows UK government advice. William, a future head of the Church of England, did not meet Pope Francis. The Prince of Wales is to attend the Pope’s funeral on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has announced. Heir to the throne William, a future head of the Church of England, will represent his father by travelling to Vatican City for Pope Francis’s funeral mass in St Peter’s Square on Saturday. The decision is in keeping with modern tradition and will be seen as a major milestone in William’s role as a global statesman and future king. Charles as the Prince of Wales went to Pope John Paul II’s funeral, representing his mother the late Queen, in 2005. The first time he spoke to Pope Francis during the pontiff’s nightly calls to the Holy Family Catholic church in Gaza City, the congregant George Antone, 44, found himself at a loss for words. It was October 2023, a few weeks after Hamas ignited a devastating war in the Gaza Strip by attacking Israel. The Palestinian territory’s tiny Christian community had taken shelter in the strip’s three churches, but that didn’t mean they were safe. An Israeli airstrike had just hit the Greek Orthodox church, killing 18 people; soon, snipers and bombs would also kill civilians at the Holy Family. “I was so shy when Father Yousef handed me the phone, and there was his holiness on the screen looking at me. I thought, ‘Am I dreaming, what do I talk to him about?’ He was smiling and sweet, he asked me about what I’d had to eat that day, about my family,” Antone said. “We spoke about everything. He got to know all of us … Despite everything on his shoulders in this world he cared about us in Gaza. It feels like we have lost our father.” Argentina-born Pope Francis is being honoured at his local home town football club in Buenos Aires, San Lorenzo de Almagro, where the football-loving head of the Roman Catholic church remained a member during his 12-year papacy. Fans from the first-tier Primera Division club started gathering from Monday at the club’s chapel to the south-west of the Argentine capital to bid farewell to their best-known member. “The pope leaves an unbreakable legacy,” San Lorenzo club president Marcelo Moretti told Reuters. “For all San Lorenzo fans, he was a source of great pride. It is a very sad day.” At the chapel fans lit candles near a statue of Francis adorned with the team’s red and navy blue colours. San Lorenzo fans took to social media on news of the pope’s death to point out that his club membership number – 88235N-0 – coincided exactly with his age and the time of death. “He died at 88 years old, at 2:35am (in Buenos Aires, 5.35 GMT) and was member 88235. It really caught my attention,” wrote one San Lorenzo fan on X. The club confirmed the pope’s membership number to Reuters. … and on that note, it’s a wrap from me, Jakub Krupa, but I leave you with Tom Ambrose who will guide you through the afternoon and bring you all the latest updates from the Vatican. People will be able to pay their final respects to Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica from Wednesday through Friday, the Vatican said in a statement reported by Reuters. Catholic faithful and the general public will be able to visit: from 11:00 am (0900 GMT) to midnight on Wednesday, 7:00 am to midnight on Thursday, and 7:00 am to 7:00 pm on Friday. The Vatican has now published a booklet for tomorrow morning’s “translation of the coffin,” the process of moving it from Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica, with all relevant texts. Here is a taster of what to expect in remarks to be delivered by Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the church: Dear brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow, we now accompany the mortal remains of our Pope Francis to the Vatican Basilica, where he often exercised his ministry as Bishop of the Church which is in Rome and as Pastor of the universal Church. As we now leave this home, let us thank the Lord for the countless gifts that he bestowed on the Christian people through his servant, Pope Francis. Let us ask him, in his mercy and kindness, to grant the late Pope an eternal home in the kingdom of heaven, and to comfort with celestial hope the papal family, the Church in Rome and the faithful throughout the world. You can access the full document here. In 2002, the Boston Globe published a series of articles exposing the scale of child sexual abuse in the local Catholic church. It shone a spotlight – the title of a later movie based on the investigation – on the church’s dark shameful secrets. Eleven years later, Francis became pope. Wave after wave of abuse revelations continued to crash at the Vatican’s doors amid mounting anger and revulsion among the faithful and beyond. The issue threatened to derail Francis’s papacy and dominate his trips abroad. He was slow to grasp the scale and systemic nature of the issue and apparently reluctant to take firm action to deal with abusers and those who covered up abuse. Within hours of Francis’s death on Monday, survivors of clerical sexual abuse sounded a discordant note amid the lavish tributes. They said the pope failed to fundamentally change the culture of deference that allowed abusers to flourish and failed to deliver decisive action. It was the “tragedy of his papacy”, said one organisation. Members of the conclave that will meet in the coming days to choose a successor to Francis will know survivors will be watching closely. “The next pope must act where Pope Francis did not,” said Ending Clergy Abuse group. “He must implement a universal zero-tolerance policy – one that holds clergy fully accountable for abuse and its concealment. He must reject secrecy and complicity and place the protection of children and vulnerable adults at the heart of the church’s mission.” Shaun Dougherty, the Survivors’ Network of those Abused by Priests’s president, said: “We cannot afford another papacy that makes promises but fails to deliver real protection for children and justice for survivors.” People around the world are mourning the death of Pope Francis, and our picture editors picked some of the best photos for you in their daily selection. See their picks in full here: Our video team has put together this clip showing reactions from Catholics across the world as they pay tribute to Pope Francis. You’re now up to date on other key developments across Europe. Back to the Vatican for the latest there. Queen Sonja of Norway was discharged from an Oslo hospital on Tuesday after being admitted the previous evening for breathing difficulties, the royal palace said. “Her Majesty the Queen has been discharged from Oslo university hospital,” the palace said. “The Queen was admitted due to shortness of breath. Examinations show that the situation has normalised,” it said, adding that she would be on sick leave for the rest of the week. Sonja, 87, had been transported by medical helicopter from the royal chalet in Sikkilsdalen, where she and King Harald – Europe’s oldest reigning monarch at 88 – were spending the Easter holidays. French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot called Russian president Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine Easter truce announcement “a marketing operation” aimed at mollifying US leader Donald Trump, AFP reported. “The Easter truce that he announced somewhat unexpectedly was a marketing operation, a charm operation aimed at preventing President Trump from becoming impatient and angry,” Barrot told the FranceInfo broadcaster, a day after Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine in an abrupt end to the fragile Easter truce. The new attacks cast doubt on Trump’s hopes for a broader ceasefire between the two sides, after he said a “deal” could be struck this week. On Wednesday, key representatives from the US, Ukraine, Britain and France will meet for further talks on Ukraine in London. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said it was open to direct talks with Ukraine but declined to back Kyiv’s proposal to extend the Easter ceasefire. Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday that there were no concrete plans for negotiations on halting strikes against civilian targets, but that the Russian president was willing to discuss this directly with Ukraine if Kyiv removed “certain obstacles”. For more updates on Ukraine, you can follow our Ukraine live blog here: Spain will meet Nato’s target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defence this year, much earlier than its previous self-imposed deadline of 2029, prime minister Pedro Sánchez said. Reuters reported that Spain, which spent just 1.3% on defence in 2024, the lowest among Nato members, and other European countries are under pressure from US president Donald Trump, who is pushing Nato allies to lift military spending to as high as 5% and is reluctant to continue funding Kyiv in the war in Ukraine. Sanchez said he would meet the goal through additional spending of €10.47bn, with a focus on increasing the size of its military, telecommunications, cybersecurity and procurement of military equipment. “This plan will help us meet (the target) in record time,” Sanchez said. “Spain will contribute to defending Europe.“ Reuters noted that Italy said last week it will also meet Nato’s 2% target this year through a series of accounting changes. Let’s take a brief detour to bring you the latest news from around Europe on other topics. A Swedish cardinal considered to be among the potential favourites to succeed Pope Francis said that he did not expect to be elected at the coming conclave, AFP reported. “It would be fun to have a Swedish pope but I think it’s pretty unlikely. Highly unlikely,” Anders Arborelius, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT. Arborelius, the first Swedish Catholic bishop since the Protestant Reformation more than 500 years ago, was appointed as the Scandinavian country’s first cardinal in 2017. He converted to Catholicism at the age of 20 in the overwhelmingly Protestant country but also home to one of the world’s most secularised societies, AFP noted. Arborelius confirmed he would take part in the conclave to elect the next pope but told SVT that he had asked Francis to release him from his duties as cardinal, because he wants to return to live in his monastery in southern Sweden. He said the pope had approved his request but no date had been set for the end of his tenure. As per Francis’s wishes, he will be buried in Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood, breaking with longstanding Vatican tradition. Popes are usually buried with much fanfare in the grottoes beneath St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, but Francis – loved by many Catholics for his humility – simplified rites for papal funerals last year. The procession of his coffin from the Vatican to Esquilino, a journey of two or three miles through central Rome, would require the Vatican’s Swiss Guards. Here are some pictures of the Basilica: UK prime minister Keir Starmer is the latest national leader to confirm his plans to attend the funeral on Saturday. The Italian government has declared five days of mourning after pope’s death, a decision made at this morning’s meeting of the ministers. The period of mourning will last until Saturday, the day of the funeral. If you are joining us now, the funeral of Pope Francis will be held on Saturday at St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican has said. The mass will begin at 10am local time and will be led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the college of cardinals. The Vatican also said the pope’s coffin would be taken to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday at 9am, where it will remain until the night before the funeral, to allow the public to pay their respects. Full story: Outgoing German chancellor Olaf Scholz is the latest national leader to confirm his plans to attend the funeral on Saturday. Polish president Andrzej Duda will also attend and proposed to declare a day of national mourning on Saturday, the day of the funeral. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to attend the funeral, with the Italian media reporting that she cancelled her pre-planned engagements in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan this weekend to stay in Rome. Speaking about the guest list for the funeral this Saturday, the Kremlin has just confirmed that Russian president Vladimir Putin will not attend the service. But we have had more confirmations on top of Trump, Macron and Zelenskyy that I reported on earlier, with Argentinian president Javier Milei, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen among those saying they plan to attend. The death of Pope Francis will throw into sharp relief the internecine power struggle that has been a hallmark of his papacy. In the coming days, a ferocious battle for the future of the church will be played out with the highest of stakes within the sanctity of the Sistine Chapel. There are more than 250 cardinals in total, but those over the age of 80 are ineligible to take part in the conclave. That leaves 135 eligible cardinals, who will begin making their way to Rome in the coming days. In the 12 years after Francis became pope, he appointed about 110 of those eligible, casting his net wide across the globe. Some Vatican observers have suggested he stacked the conclave in favour of a successor likely to embrace his outlook and continue his work. The appointments make it “difficult for an ‘anti-Francis’ pope to emerge”, said Iacopo Scaramuzzi, a Vatican journalist with La Repubblica newspaper and author of the book Tango Vaticano. La Chiesa al Tempo di Francesco (Vatican Tango. The Church in the Time of Francis). “But it doesn’t mean this group is unanimous and cohesive, or that they have the same ideas. Almost all the cardinals he has chosen are pastors from great dioceses around the world.” There were conservatives as well as progressives among them, Scaramuzzi added. Full story: The ceremony of moving the coffin from Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica will start 9am local time on Wednesday, a note from the Vatican spelling out the details of the operation said. After a moment of prayer, the procession will pass through Piazza Santa Marta and Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani, exit into St. Peter’s Square and enter the Basilica through the central door. After the liturgy in the Basilica, pilgrims from around the world will be allowed to visit to pay their last tributes to Francis. The prayers and the liturgy will be led by Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the church, who announced Francis’s death on Monday. China’s foreign ministry expressed condolences over the death of Pope Francis, but said it had no information to share on who might attend the funeral, Reuters reported. China and the Vatican have in recent years maintained constructive contact and carried out beneficial exchanges, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular news briefing in Beijing. The Vatican also confirmed that Pope Francis’s coffin will be transferred to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, where it will stay until the funeral. It will be taken there from the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, pictured in the earlier photo. The Vatican has just confirmed that Pope Francis’s funeral will be held on Saturday at 10am local time, Reuters reported. According to a short statement, the funeral liturgy in St Peter’s square will be presided by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals. Following the liturgy, the coffin will be taken into St Peter’s Basilica, and then to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial, as requested by Francis. The Vatican has released first pictures showing Francis in open coffin during the rite of certification of death that took place in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta in Vatican last night. Vatican News reported that “during the rite, the declaration of death was read aloud. The act was validated by Cardinal Farrell, and the ceremony lasted just under an hour.” We’re expecting to hear more about when the coffin will be taken for public viewing in Saint Peter’s Basilica at some point today. The next pope will be chosen by the College of Cardinals, the Catholic church’s most senior figures appointed by the pontiff, who will make their way to Rome in the next few days for the conclave. The name comes from the Latin cum clave, meaning “with key”, indicating the closed process of electing a pope. There are more than 250 cardinals from more than 90 countries, but only about 135 are cardinal electors (those over the age of 80 are excluded). About 110 of the cardinal electors have been chosen by Francis in the past 10 years and largely reflect his vision of a more inclusive church. Once the cardinals are assembled in Rome, usually 15-20 days after the pope’s death, they gather under Michelangelo’s magnificent painted ceiling in the Sistine Chapel to begin their deliberations. After the words extra omnes – everyone out – are declared, referring to all but voting cardinals and a handful of officials and doctors, the doors are locked. … and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to attend the funeral, presidency source told AFP. Expect the diplomatic list to grow rapidly in the coming days, with most countries sending their heads of state or government to pay tribute to Francis – creating potential space for high-level meetings on the margins of the funeral. French president Emmanuel Macron also just confirmed he would attend the funeral, speaking to reporters in Saint-Denis de la Reunion, where he is on a foreign trip. “We will attend the pope’s funeral as we should,” he said, AFP reported. US president Donald Trump said overnight that he was planning to travel to Vatican for the funeral of Pope Francis, expected later this week. In a post on Truth Social, he said: Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there! Let’s start the day by bringing you front pages from around Europe and beyond as newspapers reported on the death of Pope Francis – including in Italy and his native Argentina. Following the death of Pope Francis at 88 yesterday, the papacy is currently vacant, or as they call it in Vatican, we’re in the sede vacante period. But first decisions are set to be made today about the process that will first pay tribute to Francis’s life of service, and ultimately lead to the election of his successor. While the 88-year-old left clear instructions on where he would want to be buried – in St. Mary Major basilica outside the Vatican – the critical timeline of what happens when is to be decided by the cardinals. The Congregation of Cardinals is expected to make first calls today, including on when his body would lie in state, and when the funeral would take place, kicking off a complex diplomatic operation which will see scores of global leaders descend on Rome and Vatican. The clock is also starting for the conclave which will ultimately elect the new pope, which must begin 15-20 days after the death of the previous head of the Catholic church. Expect to hear more about papabili, those expected to be in the running to succeed Francis. I will bring you all the key updates throughout the day. It’s Tuesday, 22 April 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning.