Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishWith the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics now mourning the death of Pope Francis, many of them will be wanting to head to Rome as he lies in state at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.News of the 88-year-old’s passing was announced earlier today, two months after he was admitted to hospital with an infection that developed into pneumonia in both lungs and then kidney failure. He spent his final hours blessing thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.There will now be nine days of official mourning.The Vatican Chamberlain, currently Cardinal Kevin Farrell, will first certify officially that Francis is dead by calling his name three times at his bedside.The Pope’s office and private apartments will be sealed and the papal fisherman’s ring removed from his finger and broken with a hammer.The body of the Pope will then be dressed in red robes with a white mitre on his head, and he will be taken to St Peter’s Basilica, where he will lie in state for three days.His coffin will be carried through the “door of death” on the left side of the main altar in the basilica as a single bell is tolled. Previous pontiffs were traditionally buried in three nested coffins made of cypress, lead and oak.However, Francis has chosen a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc, and asked that his body not be put on display atop a raised platform, or catafalque, in St. Peter’s Basilica for visitors in Rome to view, as was the case with previous popes. Pope Francis has died aged 88. Above: The Pope using a wheelchair at the Vatican, February 3, 2025 There will now be nine days of official mourning in the Vatican City (pictured), during which the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel will be closed to tourists If you wish to see the Pope lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica, be prepared for huge queues and heightened security, especially as it’s already crowded with it being the Jubilee Year.Travel to Rome won’t be affected, but the city is likely to get much busier, so ensure you’ve already got your accommodation booked. His funeral will take place within six days, and then – in contrast to most of his predecessors – Francis be buried in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood, rather than in the grottoes beneath St Peter’s.The historic process of the conclave – where cardinals will gather in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to choose who will be the next pope – will not begin for at least 15 days from today. The Sistine Chapel will be closed for about a week before Conclave and will be closed for the entire duration of the process.It will likely open again a couple of days after Conclave ends. During the Conclave, the Vatican Museums, however, will remain open, and visitors will be re-directed along an alternative route, according to Through Eternity Tours. Many restaurants and stores will be closed during this time as well, as a mark of respect.
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The Sistine Chapel will be closed for about a week before Conclave and for the entire duration of the process. The Conclave will take place in the Sistine Chapel. Above: Cardinals on the first day of the Conclave in 2013, after the resignation of BenedictIt will likely open again a couple of days after Conclave ends. During the Conclave, the Vatican Museums, however, will remain open, and visitors will be re-directed along an alternative route, according to Through Eternity Tours. Access to St Peter’s Basilica will not be possible on guided tours as access is via the Sistine Chapel. The Basilica will have limited (unspecified) access due to funeral preparations. Access to the dome of the Basilica is closed. Tours of the Vatican Gardens will be suspended for security reasons as the cardinals are bused back and forth from the chapel to their accommodation on the grounds. St. Peter’s Square will remain open, but there will be large crowds and media in the piazza for the duration of the Conclave process. If you want to see the smoke from the chapel, it will be seen twice daily – around noon after the first two ballots and again at 4-5 pm after the last round of voting.Only cardinals who are aged 80 and under – so 138 of 252 currently – can vote in the conclave.Cardinals will be locked inside the Chapel without access to technology or the outside world until a new pope is chosen by two-thirds majority.The previous conclave – when Pope Benedict stepped down in 2013 – took just a day, but technically they can last weeks, months or even years. In modern times, they have tended to only last a few days. If after around two weeks of balloting no new pope has been chosen, cardinals can opt for a majority vote. Pope Francis addressing the faithful form the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica after being chosen as the new pontiff, March 13, 2013 In line with tradition, Benedict lay in state inside St Peter’s Basilica (above, January 2023) and was then buried in a crypt underneath the building. Pope Francis will be buried in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhoodThe conclave’s first day begins with the ‘Pro eligendo Romano Pontificie’ Mass for the election of a pope.Cardinals will gather in the afternoon in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace and then file into the Sistine Chapel.As they do so, they will chant the Litany of Saints and the Latin hymn Veni Creator, which implores the saints and the Holy Spirit to help them in their decision.Standing under Michelangelo’s ‘Creation’ and before his ‘Last Judgment,’ each cardinal places his hand on the Gospels and pledges ‘with the greatest fidelity’ never to reveal the details of the conclave.
