As hundreds of millions of people around the world cry to Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic Church is preparing to put it to rest, an event that is expected to attract hungry for billions of mourners, even since the costs are probably significantly lower than those significantly less important.
Francis’s body has been in the state since Wednesday in the Basilica of San Pedro, which allows the faithful to present their respects. World leaders, including the president of the United States, Donald Trump, are also expected in the Vatican to attend their funeral, which is scheduled for Saturday morning.
Unlike its predecessors, Francis requested a more modest burial. In 2024, he changed the long -standing burial rules that required three coffins: two acts of cypress and oak, and one of lead, one inside the other. According to the new rules, the potatoes can now be buried in a single coffin made of wood and lined with zinc. The change of rule also allows burial outside the Vatican, for Francis’s wishes.
His coffin will be transferred to the Basilica or Santa María Mayor, a church outside the walls of the Vatican, where he had asked for a simple grave on the ground. Francis will be the first Pope to be buried there since the seventeenth century, and the first in more than 100 years to be buried outside the Vatican.
Chosen for the Papacy in 2013, Francis was known for adopting a humble lifestyle. The Pope, born in Argentina, chose to live in the Vatican guest house instead of the luxurious Apostolic Palace, often traveling in modest vehicles.
“I was always more excited about going to places where normal people lived, not the halls of power, palaces, etc.
In his last will and will published on Monday, Francis said his funeral would be covered by an unidentified benefit factor to whom he had previously organized, and that would be sent to the papal basilica or Santa Maria Maggiore.
“These are symbols, because in Catholicism, the symbols are very important, and this is one of those cases,” Faggioli added.
Vatican Financial Woes
The Vatican has had a tight lip on the specific cost of Francis’s funeral and did not respond to figures applications.
Historical and papal funerals have cost millions. In 1978, the death of two potatoes and the posterior conclave cost the Vatican $ 20 million, equivalent to more than $ 101 million today. More recent, the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, and his choice of the successor of Pope Benedict XVI, cost $ 9 million (about $ 14.7 million in dollars today).
That year, the Church brought $ 12.4 million in revenues of a tourist influx to its museums. Other sources of income include donations, shares, bonds, real estate and other investments.
But in recent years, the Church has faced winds winds against financial winds. Francis frequently faced the cardinals in the Church’s finances, including only three days before his hospitalization at the end of February. The heading of a series of financial reforms, one of which caused a violent reaction, including cutting wages for high -ranking officials.
Last year, the Church had a budget deficit of $ 87 million, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The Vatican has not published a complete budget since 2022.
“The Vatican needs money and needs money because this is a much bigger church. Now it serves many more people in poor countries, and there are less Catholics in rich countries. And from there comes the imbalance.
The crowds descend in Rome
The city of Rome, and the Vatican in particular, were already crowded due to Holy Week, which attracted hundreds of thousands or visitors.
It is not clear how many people will stay to cry the death or stay to attend the public visualization of their body, but so far, tens of thousands have already presented their respects.
Historical, the crowds have been stuck. In 1978, it is estimated that 100,000 people gathered to cry Paul VI. In 2005, Pope John Paul II brought about four million Mourters to Rome for funeral. In contrast, an estimated 50,000 People were at st stE Peter’s Square for Pope Benedict’s Funeral in January 2023, with More than 136,000 People Watching it on Those for Those for Those for Those for Those.
For now, hotels are already reserved. RESENTZA PAOLO VI, one of the closest hotels to the city of the Vatican, is completely reserved until mid -May. Tmark Hotel Vatican is also exhausted for next week, according to its website.
