Cardinals prepare for Pope Francis’s funeral

The cardinals will meet on Tuesday, April 22 to decide the date for the funeral of Pope Francis, beginning a process that will culminate in the election of a new Catholic leader in three weeks.

Francis, the chief of the 1,400 million Catholics in the world, died at his home in the Vatican on Monday at 88 years after suffering a stroke. He had been recovering from the double pneumonia that saw him hospitalized for five weeks. Taxes have become everyone for Francis, a liberal reformer who took after the resignation of German theologian Benedict XVI in 2013.

The country of origin of the Argentine Pontiff prepared for a week of national mourning, while India began three days of state mourning on Tuesday, a rare honor for a foreign religious leader in the most populous nation in the world.

Heads of state and royalty are expected for funeral, “he was a good man, he worked hard and loved the world,” said the president of the United States, despite the criticism of the Pontiff to his migrant deportation program. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he will also attend the funeral. “We will attend the Pope’s funeral as we should,” he told reporters.

The funeral must be carried out between the fourth and sixth days after the death of the Pope, cordination to the Apostolic Constitution, so between Friday and Sunday of this week. The Vatican has not yet announced a date for the funeral.

The details will be decided by the cardinals, who have signed in the leg for a first series of “general congregations” from 9 am (8 am Paris). Cardinals of all ages are invited to congregations, although only those under 80 are eligible to vote for a new lake in the conclave. The conclave should begin no less than 15 and no more than 20 days after the death of the Pope.

Simple tomb

The Pope’s body was transferred to the Santa Marta chapel on Monday night, and his apartment was formally sealed, said the Vatican. His remains are expected to transfer from the residence of Santa Marta, where he lived and died, to the Basilica of San Pedro from Wednesday to be in the state.

Francis, who had simple robes and avoided the luxury of his predecessors, has opted for a simple grave, without ornaments, except his name in Latin: Franciscus, according to his will launched on Monday.

He will be buried in the Santa María Maggiore Basilica of Rome, becoming the first Pope in more than 100 years to rest the Vatican. His death certificate published by the Vatican said that Francis died of a stroke, causing “irreversible” heart failure. He had been discharged from the Gemelli Hospital in Rome on March 23, ordered to be ordered to spend at least two months resting.

But Francis delighted to be among his flock and made numerous public appearances in recent days. Easter celebrations seemed exhausted on Sunday, but Neverphless greeted the crowds in their popemobile in the Plaza de San Pedro.

The great Argentine soccer Lionel Messi praised his compatriot, himself a great admirer of the beautiful game, for “making the world a better place.”