Pope Leo XIV

Farewell to the Pontiff

Over 90,000 people have so far paid their respects to Pope Francis. Netanyahu's condolences arrived after three days

The farewell of the faithful will last until Friday 25 April, then the coffin will be closed. The Pope's tomb at Santa Maria Maggiore will be open from 27 April

by Redaction Rome

24 April 2025Aggiornato alle 21.30 del 24 aprile

Verso il Conclave: i potenziali cardinali papabili per la successione di Francesco

5' min read

Key points

Possible night opening of the basilica for the Pope
Rome's quaestor: impressive security plan
Francis' closeness to the prisoners
Trump: I will have several meetings in Rome
Lazio Region's health plan for funerals ready
Schools closed in Rome on Saturday 26th for Pope's funeral
Anas: extraordinary national road plan

5' min read

From yesterday morning at 11:00 until 7:00 this evening more than 90,000 people came to St. Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis. This was announced by the Vatican Press Office. The followers' greeting to the Pontiff will last until tomorrow, Friday 25 April, at 8pm, then the coffin will be closed. The funeral will take place on Saturday, when Rome will be a crossroads for the meeting of the Earth's greats: 170 delegations are expected. This morning the third congregation of cardinals. "We are not talking about Conclave yet, but we are mourning Pope Francis," clarified Cardinal Jean Paul Vesco.

The Pope's tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore will be open to visitors from the morning of Sunday, 27 April. It was made of marble from Liguria with the sole inscription "FRANCISCUS" and a reproduction of his pectoral cross. The tomb, the Holy See Press Office explains, informing about the project, was prepared in the niche in the side aisle between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. The tomb is located near the Altar of St. Francis.

Possible night opening of the basilica for the Pope

If the massive influx of faithful for the homage to the Pope continues today, the basilica will remain open even after midnight, as it did last night. The basilica tonight - Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni reported - closed from 9.45pm to 10.15pm, "to allow some operations in the basilica, in view of the extension of the hours". Then it closed from 5.30am to 7am.

The Quaestor of Rome: impressive security plan

"The security plan is absolutely imposing, there are needs to be met that give the dimension of the appointment with history. The Holy Father has left us in the year of the jubilee, we will see his burial in another Roman basilica, with the relocation that will put the whole of Rome to watch the Pope passing through the streets on his way to his final resting place. This imposes, in a setting where heads of state and government from all over the world will arrive, an impressive security machine that is based on teamwork". This was said by the Quaestor of Rome, Roberto Massucci, at the microphones of Rtl 102.5. "We are working on the route," he explained, "the hypothesis is to pass through the centre of Rome, through Corso Vittorio Emanuele to get to Piazza Venezia, Fori Imperiali and enter the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore through Via Merulana. It is a route that we are still studying together with the Vatican gendarmerie and other institutions. It will be approved in the next few hours'.

Francis' closeness to prisoners

Proximity to prisoners has been an important figure of this pontificate, right to the end, with the last outing outside the Vatican dedicated to them: that Holy Thursday in the Regina Coeli penitentiary. In the last few hours it was also discovered that in the last few days Francis had lightened his personal account by 200,000 euro to support the pasta factory of the juvenile prison of Casal Del Marmo that offers a job and a second chance to some youngsters. He gave the sum to the auxiliary bishop of Rome, Monsignor Benoni Ambarus, simply 'don Ben' for Francis but also for the Romans. And now the bishop promises: 'I am working so that his favourite sons can be at the funeral'.

Trump: I will have several meetings in Rome

US President Donald Trump said he will have several meetings in Rome on the occasion of the Pope's funeral, but would not specify with whom. "Yes, of course. I have many meetings scheduled," he told reporters in the Oval Office. He then announced that there will be other people in the US delegation, in addition to him and Melania, and said he was convinced that it will be "a beautiful ceremony".

Netanyahu's condolences arrive after three days

"The State of Israel expresses its deepest condolences to the Catholic Church and the worldwide Catholic community on the passing of Pope Francis. May he rest in peace." This is what is stated in a condolence post published on X by the office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, three days after the death of Pope Francis.

Lazio Region health plan for funerals ready

The health plan prepared by the Lazio Region for the funeral of Pope Francis, scheduled for Saturday 26 April, is ready. The plan will also cover the Jubilee of Teenagers scheduled for Sunday 27. In light of the very high flow of pilgrims that will be arriving in Rome, the regional health emergency company Ares 118 has defined an articulated health protection system, operational from 7 a.m. on Saturday 26 April until the end of the events, with the aim of guaranteeing the safety and timely medical assistance to the participants. In particular, 6 advanced medical points, 7 medical rescue ambulances, 11 nurse rescue ambulances, 80 foot rescue teams and a Unidec team (Field Decontamination Unit) have been organised. An additional 50 ambulances and 50 foot teams will also be made available by the National Civil Defence, under the management of Ares 118, to be deployed in the areas with the greatest number of pilgrims, according to need.

Schools closed in Rome on Saturday 26th for Pope's funeral

Schools closed in Rome for the entire day of Saturday 26 April, the day of the pontiff's funeral. This was announced by the Regional School Office of Lazio in a circular letter signed by the director general, Anna Paola Sabatini, sent to all institutes. The measure will affect all Roman schools. "In consideration of the organisational and safety requirements connected to the celebration of the Holy Mass in suffrage of the Holy Father, schools are asked to provide for the closure of school buildings for the entire day, if days of suspension of teaching activities have not already been decided for the 25 April anniversary," reads the circular issued by the regional school office. "The closure of school premises, even in the absence of teaching activities, will facilitate the implementation of public order and logistical management measures for the event, thus contributing to the smooth running of the celebrations in safe conditions. We therefore ask school leaders and coordinators of educational activities to take the relevant measures as soon as possible and to notify families and school staff". Many schools are closed due to the long 'bridge' due to the Easter holidays and the 25 April holiday. The few schools that remain open will still be closed in view of the pope's funeral that is scheduled from 10am on Saturday, 26 April.

Anas: extraordinary national road plan

On the occasion of the funeral of Pope Francis, Anas has prepared an extraordinary national road network plan in anticipation of the arrival of Heads of State and Government and international institutions at Rome airports and for the influx of the faithful into the capital from all Italian regions. In particular, the presence of Anas personnel has been stepped up on the main roads linking Rome where high traffic intensity is expected: the A90 'Grande Raccordo Anulare' motorway, the A91 'Roma-Fiumicino' motorway and the SS7 'Appia'. Anas monitoring has also been stepped up on consular roads, including the SS1 'Aurelia', SS2 'Cassia', SS3 'Flaminia' and SS4 'Salaria'. The road network plan provides for targeted action to prevent and control vehicle flows from all Italian regions: 2,300 Anas resources are in the field, on the roads and in the operations rooms, already planned for the Easter and spring long weekend exodus - with the temporary removal of about 80% of the construction sites on the national network - with presence and shifts now reinforced.

Even migrants and refugees at Pope Francis' funeral

There will also be migrants and refugees at Pope Francis' funeral in St Peter's Square. This was announced by Mediterranea, the NGO that has met the Pontiff several times and has received confirmation of its participation from the Prefecture of the Papal Household. The delegation will consist of rescuers and refugee migrants who have been tortured and escaped from Libyan lagers.