Pope Francis will be dressed in red vestments and a white cassock for his final procession to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, located outside the Vatican, where he will be buried on Saturday.

The Vatican announced that Pope Francis, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina to Regina Maria Sivori and Mario Jose Francisco, passed away on Monday, April 21, 2025, due to a stroke and cardiac arrest.

According to the Vatican, Pope Francis suffered a stroke early on Easter Monday, which led to a coma. He then experienced irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse and died at the age of 88.

His last public appearance was on , where he gave blessings to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Pope Francis was hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14, 2025, where he was diagnosed with double pneumonia and remained for 38 days.

Approximately 60 Catholic cardinals convened in Rome on Tuesday morning for their first meeting since Pope Francis’s death, which lasted from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. local time.

The meeting commenced with a prayer for the late Pope. The high-ranking priests pledged to adhere to the funeral arrangements Pope Francis had established the previous year. Lastly, Bergoglio’s final will and testament were read.

He requested that his tomb bear only the name “Franciscus,” omitting any mention of his 12-year papacy, a departure from the tradition of past popes’ burial sites.

A rosary service for Pope Francis was held by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti on Monday in St. Peter’s Square.

Starting Wednesday at 9 a.m. local time (03:00 ET) until the funeral, Pope Francis’s body will be available for viewing at St. Peter’s Basilica, allowing mourners to pay their respects.

The procession carrying Pope Francis’s body will proceed through Santa Marta Square, the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs, and the Arch of the Bells before entering St. Peter’s Square and then Basilica.

Mourners are invited to visit St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their respects in :

On Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 10 a.m. local time, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead a Mass to celebrate Pope Francis’s life.

Bishops, priests, cardinals, archbishops, and patriarchs from around the world will participate in officiating the service.

The events will conclude with the start of the Novemdiales, a nine-day period of prayer, mourning, and remembrance.

Another funeral Mass will be conducted on Sunday by Italian Cardinal and Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

Pope Francis will be interred in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

The revealed his burial preferences shortly after his election in 2013.

According to Neomi DeAnda, a constructive theologian, “He believed that he may not live very long.” She added, “He was already in his 70s when he was elected pope, and he wanted to be prepared when God called him home.”

“In the Name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.

“Feeling that the sunset of my earthly life is approaching and with lively hope in the Eternal Life, I wish to express my testamentary will only with regard to the place of my Burial.

“I have always entrusted my life and the priestly and episcopal ministry to the Mother of Our Lord, Mary Most Holy. Therefore, I ask that my mortal remains rest waiting for the day of the resurrection in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

“I want my last earthly journey to end in this ancient sanctuary Mariano where I went for prayer at the beginning and end of each Apostolic Journey to confidently entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and thank Her for the docile and maternal care.

“I ask that my tomb be prepared in the hole of the aisle between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the aforementioned Papal Basilica as Indicated in the attached annex.

“The tomb must be in the earth; simple, without particular decorum and with the only inscription: Franciscus.

“The expenses for the preparation of my burial will be covered with the sum of the benefactor who I have arranged, to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and of which I have provided to give appropriate instructions to Mons. Rolandas Makrickas, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Chapter Liberian.

“May the Lord give the well-deserved reward to those who have loved me and will continue to pray for me. The suffering that was made in the last part of my life I offered to the Lord for peace in the world and brotherhood among peoples.”