Pope Francis at peace amid scramble by pilgrims, presidents

Thousands of pilgrims have begun converging on the Vatican City to remember Pope Francis, with world leaders rearranging itineraries to attend his funeral on Saturday.

Pope Francis in his open coffin during the rite of the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff at the Chapel of Santa Marta in The Vatican. Picture: Handout/Vatican Media/AFP

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Thousands of pilgrims have begun converging on the Vatican City to ­remember Pope Francis, with world leaders rearranging ­itineraries to attend his funeral on Saturday.

The Vatican released a photo of the pontiff lying in an open coffin – his hands resting on his midriff and looking peaceful with his eyes closed – after the chamberlain, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, sealed the doors of the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace.

On Wednesday at 9am (5pm AEST), the Pope’s body will be taken in a procession from the Casa Santa Marta through the ­Piazza Santa Marta and Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani, through the Arch of the Bells and into St ­Peter’s Basilica through the ­central door for three days of lying in state.

Public viewing will begin on Wednesday, with the funeral to take place at 10am on Saturday (6pm AEST). Church officials are expecting more than 100 world leaders for the funeral – along with many more dignitaries – and have begun closing off key entryways into ­the Vatican City as part of an intense security program.

US President ­Donald Trump has announced he will attend the funeral with his wife Melania, as will French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Groups of pilgrims who had pre-booked tours of the Vatican were being allowed entry on Tuesday as workers began erecting a myriad of fencing to direct mourners who wish to view the Pope lying in state.

Cardinals moved across St Peter’s Square, with one dressed in his red robes comforting a nun who dropped to her knees.

US Vice-President JD Vance had the last private audience with the Pope on Easter Sunday before Francis greeted 35,000 people after the Easter Mass, and blessed children as he moved among the well-wishers in St Peter’s Square.

More than 250 cardinals from 90 countries have also started ­arriving in Rome, including ­Australia’s cardinal Mykola Bychok from St Peter and St Paul’s church in Melbourne, who was en route to the Middle East when the Pope’s sudden death from a stroke and heart failure at 7.35am local time Monday was announced.

The Archbishop of Perth, Timothy Costelloe, and other Australian bishops are also en route. Around the Vatican City the mood was one of intense sadness.

Francis, a Jesuit priest born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argen­tina, had often spoken about death being “a pathway to a celebration” and his final wishes reflected upon that. He had written the testament sensing the twilight of his earthly life “and with a firm hope in eternal life”.

He said: “May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me. The suffering that has marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and for fraternity among peoples.”

Seals placed on the Apostolic Palace after the death of Pope Francis in The Vatican. Picture: Vatican Media/AFP

He had also written the introduction to a book which was published this week by Cardinal Angelo Scola, who in 2013 was favourite to become pope: Waiting For a New Beginning. Reflections on Old Age.

“Death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something,” he wrote. “It is a new beginning, as the title wisely highlights, because eternal life, which those who love already experience on earth in the occupations of every day, is starting something that will not end.”

Francis wished to be buried in a simple coffin made of wood and zinc and be laid to rest in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome’s ­Esquilino where seven other popes from centuries ago are buried, and with a simple inscription “Franciscus”.

The last pope buried in this church, built between 352 and 366 and then renovated by Pope ­Sixtus III in the 430s to dedicate it to the Madonna, was Clement IX in 1669.

The Pope’s wishes are a ­deviation from more recent times as nearly 100 popes are buried in the lower level of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

Francis said he would always stop and pray at Santa Maria Maggiore at the beginning and end of every Apostolic journey, confidently entrusting his intentions to the Immaculate Mother.

Argentinian couple Patrizia and Jorge Baglini said the Pope’s wish to be buried in Rome, desiring “gentle and maternal care”, was “typical of Francis”.

“He was very progressive and a bit different,’’ said Ms Baglini, who had arrived in Italy on Monday for a week’s visit.

“We loved him, he was so caring, so humble, so generous to people. We are so proud of him. We feel blessed that we will be here to say goodbye.”

The conclave, the election of a new pope, will be held underneath Michelangelo’s masterful ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, possibly in the first week of May.

Faithful attend a rosary in homage to Pope Francis in St Peter's Square on April 21. Picture: Getty Images

About 135 cardinals are under the age of 80 and are eligible to vote, the majority of them chosen by Francis in the past decade. Francis had eschewed tradition and looked to smaller dioceses for his cardinals, including Tonga, Haiti and Para New Guinea.

There is already a schism in the church over whether Francis’ progressive and inclusive ways took the church too far from its traditional teachings. The leading candidates to become the new pope may be more conservative or middle ground.

It could also be a chance for a first Asian or African pope, given the popularity of the Catholic Church in the global south.

Self-interest also plays a part: a young candidate may be discounted because some voters may be considering their own papal prospects and may not want to install a pope who could be in charge for 30 years.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, from Italy, who is the “chief of staff” at the Vatican, is one of the current favourites, alongside the charismatic Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of The Philippines.