Since this morning, the faithful have been paying homage to Pope Francis, who died on Monday at the age of 88.

The coffin, transferred to St. Peter's Basilica , is displayed in front of the Altar of Confession.

A river in flood is what is paying its last respects from today. There are families with strollers, kids with colorful sweatshirts, the elderly pushed in their wheelchairs, as Bergoglio was moving until just a few days ago. It is his people, made up of believers and non-believers, who from today until Friday will stop in front of that coffin for a prayer. Hours of line to stop just a few seconds but there are many people who want to thank him for these twelve years of pontificate. Also paying homage to the body of the Pontiff are Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Piantedosi, and the President of the Chamber Lorenzo Fontana. But also Matteo Renzi, Nicola Fratoianni, to name a few because the list is long. Many have a memory, a word, a message of this Pope who brought a new wind to the world. The first to pay homage with a white handkerchief in her hand, unable to collect all her tears, is Sister Genevieve, 82, the little nun friend of Pope Francis and the poor, starting with those circus performers with whom she lived in a caravan for decades of her life. There are so many people, 100 thousand people is the first estimate. But they expect more and more every hour.

The tribute will continue until 8pm on Friday 25 April, when the chamberlain Kevin Joseph Farrell will preside over the closing of the coffin .

Bergoglio's funeral will instead be held on Saturday at 10 am in the basilica's parvis. Many great leaders of the Earth are expected for the farewell rite, from Trump to Zelensky, from Von der Leyen to Starmer.

THE DAY LIVE:

- Putin's Minister, Israel's Frost

Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova will represent Russia at the funeral of Pope Francis, the decision was made by President Vladimir Putin, RIA Novosti news agency reports.

The Kremlin's number one, however, could not be present by virtue of the international arrest warrant hanging over his head.

Israel, on the other hand, will be represented only by its ambassador to the Vatican, the Times of Israel reports. Diplomatic sources stress that the decision is a sign of how much relations between Israel and the Vatican have deteriorated since the start of the war with Hamas in Gaza in 2023. As has already been demonstrated by the Israeli government's order to delete an official social media post expressing condolences for Bergoglio's death.

- Controversy in France

Controversy in France over the decision by the government of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou to fly flags at half-mast in public buildings on Saturday, in homage to Pope Francis, on the day of the Pontiff's funeral. Several left-wing leaders deplore the decision, which they believe is detrimental to the principle of secularism. "I am quite shocked that flags are being flown at half-mast in public buildings. Yet secularism is a concept that is brandished by everyone when it comes to Islam, and in particular Muslim women. It is an unbearable double standard," deplores Marine Tondelier, the environmental secretary quoted by the Agence France Presse as saying. She is among the first politicians from across the Alps to pay homage to Pope Francis on Monday.

- Giorgia Meloni in St. Peter's

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, immediately after her speech at Montecitorio in the joint session of the Chambers, arrived at St. Peter's Basilica to pay homage to the body of Pope Francis.

- The homage of the Parliament in joint chambers

The commemoration of Pope Francis has begun in the Chambers united in the Chamber of Montecitorio. The Chamber of Montecitorio is packed. The government benches are also crowded with the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni dressed in black between the two Deputy Prime Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini. Deputies and senators together applaud the speeches of the Presidents of the Chamber and Senate Fontana and La Russa. Everyone stood, even in the gallery for the minute of silence requested by Fontana to commemorate Francis, at the end of which there was a long applause. And there was no shortage of controversy, with Conte and Schlein who lashed out against the "hypocritical celebrations" of those who "deport migrants" and approve the rearmament policies of the European Union.

- Jewish community present at funeral

The UCEI with its president Noemi Di Segni will be present at the funeral of Pope Francis. "A dutiful homage from all Italian Judaism, for what the pontiff represents in Italy and throughout the world, in the mutual commitment to dialogue and for every possible effort in the affirmation of the culture of coexistence", reads the note from the Union of Italian Jewish Communities. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is one of the few leaders who has not paid homage to the Pope and his government has ordered Israeli embassies to delete posts of condolence published on social media. The frostiness with Pope Francis is due to the Pontiff's statements on the "genocide" underway in Gaza.

- Saturday after the funeral the burial in Santa Maria Maggiore

Next Saturday, April 26, at the end of the funeral Mass in St. Peter's Square, the coffin of Pope Francis will be accompanied to the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial. Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will preside over the rite provided for in the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis (nn. 110-123).

- The "moving" tribute of Ugo Cappellacci

"A tribute paid with devotion and deep emotion." This is how Ugo Cappellacci, a Sardinian FI MP, described in a note his participation, in the early hours of the morning, in the greeting of the faithful to Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica. "It is a moment of intense emotion," he declared, "in which the greatness of faith is intertwined with the power of prayer. I will carry this moment with me as a tangible sign of a bond that unites peoples, consciences and hopes." Cappellacci, the first Sardinian MP to pay homage to the Holy Father this morning, then wanted to recall the mark left by Pope Francis in Sardinia: "He remains a spiritual guide for our island, where he was able to ignite words of hope and comfort. I am certain," he concluded, "that, in the name of our common devotion to the Madonna di Bonaria, he will continue to watch over the Sardinian community from heaven."

- Friday at 8pm the coffin will be closed

On Friday, April 25, at 8:00 p.m. in St. Peter's Basilica, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will preside over the rite of closing the coffin of Pope Francis. This was announced by the Master of Liturgical Celebrations, Msgr. Diego Ravelli. In addition to Cardinal Farrell, the other cardinals who will take part in the ceremony include: Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals; Roger Michael Mahony, Cardinal Priest; Dominique Mamberti, Cardinal Protodeacon; Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica; Pietro Parolin, former Secretary of State; Baldassare Reina, Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome; Konrad Krajewski, Almoner of His Holiness; Monsignors Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute of the Secretariat of State; Ilson de Jesus Montanari, Vice Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church; Leonardo Sapienza, Regent of the Papal Household; then the Canons of the Vatican Chapter, the Ordinary Vatican Minor Penitentiaries, the secretaries of the deceased Pontiff and other persons admitted by the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations.

- Access for the faithful begins

After hours of waiting, the first faithful begin to enter the basilica for the last farewell to Pope Francis. After the transfer from Casa Santa Marta and the homage of cardinals and prelates and members of the papal family, it is finally time for the faithful.

- The transfer rite is finished

The rite of the translation of the Pope's body to St. Peter's Basilica has ended. After the prayer of the dead, Eternal rest, the final song was dedicated to Our Lady: the Salve Regina.

- Body sprinkled with water and incensed

The body of Pope Francis, placed in the open coffin before the Altar of Confession in St. Peter's Basilica, was sprinkled with holy water and incensed.

- The coffin on the ground, not on the catafalque

The coffin of Pope Francis in the Vatican Basilica was placed in front of the Altar of Confession. It is on a small, slightly inclined platform, placed on a carpet on the floor, and not on the catafalque as has always happened in the past. In this sense, the Pope's wishes were respected.

- The coffin in St. Peter's

The body of Pope Francis, carried by the sediari and accompanied by the solemn procession, entered St. Peter's Basilica greeted by a long and moving applause from the faithful. At the end of this rite, among the most solemn of the Vatican celebrations, starting at 11, it will be possible for three days for all the faithful to pay homage to the Pontiff.

(Online Union)

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