Vatican City, Apr 25 (EFE).- Around 150,000 people paid their respects before the coffin of Pope Francis in the Vatican City until noon on Friday, the eve of his funeral, according to the Holy See’s spokesperson, Matteo Bruni.
The coffin of the Argentine pontiff, who died Monday at the age of 88, will remain open until 7pm local time, before preparations begin for his funeral, to be held on Saturday morning.
The Italian authorities expect some 200,000 people to attend the funeral at St. Peter’s Square, in addition to 130 delegations of different countries, with heads of state such as the United States President Donald Trump, among others such as the Spanish monarch Felipe VI and his wife Letizia.
The rite of closing the coffin will be a private ceremony.
A total of 149 cardinals have already arrived in Rome out of the 252 that make up the College of Cardinals, although only 133 will be eligible to vote for deciding a successor, as only those under 80 years of age are permitted to take part in the exercise.
The cardinals participating in the funeral will visit the tomb of the Argentine pope on Sunday.
The funeral also marks the beginning of the Novendiales, or a nine-day period of mourning in the Vatican over the death of a deceased.
As for the conclave to elect a successor, Vatican legislation establishes that it must begin within a maximum period of 20 days after the death of the pope, which occurred on Apr. 21.
Hence, the cardinals are expected to lock themselves in the Sistine Chapel between May 5, when the mourning ends, and May 10, when the 20-day period is over.
The Sistine Chapel has announced its closure from Apr. 28 to prepare for the conclave. EFE
gsm/sc
