Pope Francis' Remains Moved for Public Viewing; Funeral Set for Saturday

Procession and Public Viewing

• 📿 Pope Francis' coffin will be moved from a chapel into St. Peter's Square through the central doors of St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday morning at 9:00 AM local time.
• 🕊️ In accordance with his wishes for modesty, he will be interred in a single coffin instead of the traditional nested trio.
• ⏳ Starting Wednesday, the public will be able to pay their respects, with a specific time expected later today.

Funeral Arrangements and Burial

• 🗓️ Pope Francis' funeral will be held on Saturday morning at 10:00 AM Vatican City time.
• 📍 He will be buried approximately 3 miles away at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, home to his icon of the Virgin Mary, rather than in St. Peter's Basilica as is tradition.

Faithful Flock to Vatican City

• 🌍 St. Peter's Square is filling with people coming to pay their final respects to Pope Francis.
• 💬 A family from New Jersey, on a pre-planned pilgrimage, expressed admiration for Pope Francis' work with migrant populations, the homeless, and the vulnerable.
• 🙏 They hope the new pope will continue his legacy and pick up where he left off, particularly concerning his efforts to include everyone.

The Next Pontiff and Conclave

• 🗳️ The conclave to select the 267th head of the Roman Catholic Church is expected to take place between 10 and 20 days following the funeral.
• ⏱️ This timeline could be moved up if all cardinals are already in Rome, as indicated in Pope Francis' last will and testament.
• 👥 A total of 135 cardinals will be eligible to vote for the new pontiff.