WelCom December 2024/January 2025
The Vatican has issued new rules to simplify papal funerals, reflecting Pope Francis’ years-long commitment to reducing papal pageantry.
The changes – which include reducing the number of coffins in which the pope’s body is laid to one from three, and allowing the pope to be buried in a church other than St Peter’s Basilica – are another testament to Francis’ longtime embrace of a more down-to-earth, informal style that has been a trademark of his papacy.
From the beginning of his papacy, Francis has made a point of using symbols to break from the formality and pomp that has long marked the Roman Catholic Church. He has worn Casio watches and used modest cars, and instead of living in the apostolic palace, he has lived in Casa Santa Marta, a residence next to St Peter’s where he takes his meals in a communal cafeteria.
With the new rules, experts say, Pope Francis has taken another step to seal it into his legacy.
‘It’s more like the funeral of a diocesan bishop rather than of a Roman emperor,’ said Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology at Villanova University.
Pope Francis had previously said he wanted to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome, not in St Peter’s like most of his predecessors.
According to the new rules, the body of the pope will lie for the viewing directly in the coffin, not on an elevated bier [stand] as in the past. The pope’s cypress coffin will also no longer be inserted into a second coffin made of lead, and then in a third one made of oak or another wood.
Source: New York Times