VATICAN CITY — The funeral for Pope Francis will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday morning.
The news comes 24 hours after the pontiff’s death was announced, prompting faithful from around the world to mourn Francis, who died of a stroke and ‘cardiocirculatory collapse.’ He was 88.
Public viewing of his body will begin Wednesday in St. Peter’s Basilica, after his casket is taken by procession from the Vatican hotel where he lived.
Francis’ funeral will be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. He will be buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, a smaller church in Rome.
U.S. President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will be in attendance as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Vatican also released the first photos of the pope in a red velvet-lined open casket. In one, he’s surrounded by two Swiss Guards in striped uniforms.
“We must not be afraid of old age, we must not fear embracing becoming old, because life is life, and sugarcoating reality means betraying the truth of things,” the late pope wrote in ‘Awaiting a New Beginning. Reflections on Old Age.”
