Everything you should know about the rite of Pope Francis’s coffin closure

This Friday, April 25, the closing rite of Pope Francis takes place, a solemn and private ceremony, loaded with symbolism in which the pontiff’s body for his grave is prepared.

At 20:00 (Rome time), Camarlengo, Cardinal Joseph Kevin Farrell, will preside over this rite on the eve of the funeral as planned in the The Roman Pontiff.

1. Official Minutes about his life and most important works

Mons. Diego Ravelli, the master of the pontifical liturgical celebrations, is in charge of writing the Deedan official act in which the most important life and works of Pope Francis are remembered, “for which we will thank God,” according to the The Roman Pontiff.

This document will have two copies that will be signed by those present after the text has been read aloud.

One of them will enter a metal tube that will be placed in the coffin. The other copy of the act will become part of the archive of the office of the Liturgical Ceremonies of the Pontiff.

2. A white silk veil will cover your face

Next, Pope Francis’s face will be covered with a white silk veil, as a symbol of purity, with the “living hope that he can contemplate the face of God the Father, next to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints.”

The master of the pontifical liturgical celebrations, Mons. Diego Ravelli, will be in charge of extending the veil while the following sentence is prayed:

“Almighty God, Lord of life and death. We believe that the life of the Holy Father Pope Francis is now hidden in you, that his face is contemplating your beauty, by Christ Our Lord.”

3. Blessed water

Cardinal Camarlengo, Kevin Farrell, will then spray the body of the Holy Father with Blessed Water, a practice already performed when his remains were in the Chapel of Santa Marta, before the public wake began.

4. A bag with coins

With the aim of pointing out the years that his pontificate has lasted, in the coffin of Pope Francis, a fabric bag with coins will also be introduced.

Specifically, 12 gold coins (one for each year of its pontificate) and also silver and bronze will be included.

Where is it done and who will be present?

After three days of wake, the Basilica of San Pedro closes its doors to the faithful to leave everything ready for the funeral and burial of Pope Francis, which will be held on Saturday, April 26 at 10:00 in the morning.

Before closing the coffin, a series of requirements must be met in a private ritual that will feature a small group of members of the ecclesiastical hierarchy:

Cardinal Camarlengo, Kevin Farrell; Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the Cardenalicio College; Roger Michael Mahony, Cardinal Presbyter; Dominique Mamberti, Cardinal Protodiácono; Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Arciprest of the Papal Basilica of San Pedro in the Vatican; Cardinal Pietro Parolin, former Secretary of State; Cardinal Baldassare Reina, General Vicar of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome; Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, silt of his holiness; Mons. Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for the Secretary of State; Mons. Ilson de Jesus Montanari, Vice Camarlengo of the Catholic Church; and Mons. Leonardo Sapienza, regent of the Pontifical House.

In addition, a representation of canons of the Basilica and the Penitentiaries, the secretaries of the Holy Father, Daniel Pellizon, Juan Cruz Villalón and Fabio Salerno, as well as other people admitted by the master of the Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, Mons. Diego Ravelli.