CBCP head, 2 other Filipino cardinals to join conclave
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos left for the Vatican Thursday evening to attend the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, and Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III will serve as caretakers while the President is away.
“The President and the First Lady will convey the thoughts and prayers of the Filipino people, who fondly recall Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines in 2015, his compassion, and his life of humility and service to the world,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement.
Mr. Marcos will join world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in paying their last respects to the 88-year-old late pontiff.
The Vatican earlier announced plans for the traditional nine days of mourning for Pope Francis, which will start on Saturday, the day of his funeral.
There will be daily events at St Peter’s Basilica for the so-called “novemdiales,” which will last until Sunday, May 4.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David will also be at the Vatican to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
David, together with Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula and Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle are set to attend the conclave at the Vatican, which will elect the successor of the late pope.
David said the pre-conclave will be conducted over the weekend.
“Funeral is on Saturday, April 26. Pre-conclave meetings after funeral,” David said. “Probable start of the actual conclave is 15-20 days after death, any day between May 5-10, could last for one week.”
Under the rules, the conclave must achieve a two-thirds majority to elect the new pope.
‘Father of the invisible’
On Thursday, thousands of people gathered for a glimpse of Pope Francis’ body on the second day of public tributes, after St Peter’s Basilica stayed open almost all night to accommodate the crowds.
With waiting times reaching four hours to enter the basilica, some 61,000 people had already filtered past the Catholic leader’s red-lined wooden coffin yesterday, the Vatican announced.
The lying in state began on Wednesday and instead of a planned closing at midnight, the basilica remained open until 5:30am (0330 GMT) on Thursday morning, before reopening at 7:00 a.m.
The queue to get in on Thursday morning stretched long past the two entry points at St Peter’s Square, where 82-year-old Amerigo Iacovacci was waiting patiently.
“I’m here because of the great faith that unites me with Pope Francis,” said the Roman.
“He was a great man, he was the father of the least fortunate, of the invisible.”
Francis died on Monday after 12 years as head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, during which time he made a name for himself as a pope of the marginalized.
Italy is preparing a massive security operation for his funeral on Saturday in front of St Peter’s.
‘Sense of peace’
Lined in red silk, the pope’s wooden coffin has been set before St Peter’s altar, with Francis dressed in his papal vestments – a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes – with a rosary in his hands.
Each mourner was ushered past the casket within seconds, many hurriedly catching the moment on their smartphones.
Argentine Federico Rueda, 46, said that despite the rush, he would not have missed the opportunity.
“It is worth missing out on other places to say goodbye to an Argentine: a very worthy pope,” he said as he stood proudly wearing the jersey of Argentina’s national football team, the current world champions.
Mexican Leobardo Guevara, 24, draped in his country’s flag, said he felt “a sense of peace” as he filed past the body of the first pope from the Americas.
Francis, an energetic reformer who became pope in 2013, died on Monday aged 88 after suffering a stroke.
His death at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican came less than a month after he was released from five weeks in hospital with double pneumonia.
Italy’s civil protection agency estimates that “several hundred thousand” people will descend on Rome on what was already set to be a busy weekend due to a public holiday.
No conclave date yet
After the funeral, Francis’s coffin will be taken to his favorite church, Rome’s papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
His will requested that he be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus.
Following that, all eyes will turn to the process to choose Francis’ successor.
Cardinals from around the world are returning to Rome for the conclave, which will begin no fewer than 15 days and no more than 20 days after a pope’s death.
Only those under the age of 80 – currently some 135 cardinals – are eligible to vote.
However, the Vatican brushed aside hopes of an announcement of the conclave date, insisting the focus is on the funeral.
At the time of his death, Francis was under doctors’ orders to rest for two months. With AFP
But the headstrong pope continued to make public appearances despite appearing tired and short of breath.
On Easter Sunday, one day before he died, he circled St Peter’s Square in his popemobile to greet the crowds, stopping to kiss babies along the way. With AFP