Pope Francis | DD News

May 6, 2025 4:21 PM

Cardinals enter seclusion ahead of secret conclave to elect new pope

Cardinals who will take part in the secret conclave to elect a new Catholic pope began checking into two Vatican hotels on Tuesday, where they will be barred from contact with the outside world as they decide who should succeed Pope Francis. The conclave will start behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday afternoon, with all cardinals under the age of 80 able to vote on who should be the next leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church. The race to succeed Francis, who died last ...

May 1, 2025 5:01 PM

Will Italy get the papacy back after half a century of foreigners?

As Catholic cardinals meet to choose a new pope, they will face a big question: Is it time, after three consecutive non-Italian pontiffs, to give the papacy back to the nation that held it for most of the 2,000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church? For 455 years between the death of Dutchman Adrian VI in 1523 and the election of Poland's John Paul II in 1978, the Italians had total control of the papacy. In all, roughly 80% of the Church's 266 popes have been Italian. But John Paul was su...

April 29, 2025 9:14 AM

Conclave to elect new pope to start on May 7, cardinals meet

Roman Catholic cardinals will begin their secret conclave to elect the new leader of the global Church on May 7, the Vatican said on Monday, confirming what a source had previously told Reuters. The date was decided during a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican, the first since the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday. Some 135 cardinals, all under the age of 80 and from all corners of the world, are eligible to take part in the vote for the next head of the 1.4-billion-member Church...

April 26, 2025 10:46 AM

Pope Francis’ funeral held today; World leaders gather in Vatican to pay final respects

In a profound display of global mourning, world leaders, royalty, and religious dignitaries convened at St. Peter’s Square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday at the age of 88 following a stroke. The funeral ceremony began at 10:00 a.m. local time (1:30 p.m. IST) in the historic Baroque plaza before St. Peter’s Basilica. Ahead of the burial, the Pope’s body was placed in a cypress-wood coffin, which will be encased in two additional coffins made of diffe...

April 25, 2025 2:41 PM

Crowds file into St. Peter’s on last day to pay respects to Pope Francis

Tens of thousands filed into St. Peter's Basilicaat the Vatican throughout the night and intoFridaymorning on the last day to bid farewell to Pope Francis ahead of his funeral on Saturday. The basilica was open for most of the night, shutting its doors for only three hours between 2:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.(0030 and 0330 GMT). The body of the 88-year-old pope, who died on Monday in his rooms at the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse after suffering a stroke, was brought to St. Pet...

April 24, 2025 1:09 PM

Thousands honour Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica

Thousands of people poured into St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, whose body is lying in state for three days ahead of his funeral on Saturday. Crowds stretched down the main boulevard leading through Rome into the Vatican, pressing forward slowly in warm spring sunshine as people took their turn to see the late pontiff in his open coffin. The body of the 88-year-old pope, who died two days ago in his rooms at the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse af...

April 23, 2025 3:50 PM

Pope Francis’ body lies in state at St Peter’s ahead of funeral

Maria Pia Caruso travelled to Rome from her hometown in northern Italy after she learned Pope Francis had died at age 88, to say a final goodbye to a pontiff she believes brought important changes to the global Catholic Church. Caruso entered St. Peter's Square with her husband at 7 a.m., to make sure they had a seat to watch the solemn procession bringing the pope's body to St. Peter's Basilica, where it will lie in state for three days. "This pope has been really important," said Caruso, spe...

April 22, 2025 3:36 PM

Pope Francis’s funeral to be held on Saturday, many world leaders expected

Pope Francis' funeral will be held on Saturday in St. Peter's Square, Roman Catholic cardinals decided on Tuesday, setting the stage for a solemn ceremony that will draw leaders from around the world. Francis, 88, died unexpectedly on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he repeatedly clashed with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalised. The pontiff spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year suffe...

April 22, 2025 11:28 AM

India declares three-day state mourning following Pope Francis’ death

India has declared a three-day state mourning as a mark of respect for Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday. The mourning will be observed across the country on April 22 and 23, and again on the day of the Pope's funeral. "His Holiness Pope Francis, Supreme Pontiff of the Holy See, passed away today, the 21st April, 2025. As a mark of respect, three-day State Mourning shall be observed throughout India, in the following manner: Two days' State Mourning on Tuesday, the 22nd April, 2025 and W...

April 22, 2025 9:30 AM

Cardinals to meet after death of Pope Francis, plan for funeral

Cardinals were due to meet on Tuesday to plan Pope Francis' funeral, which leaders from around the world will attend ahead of a conclave next month to elect a new head of the Roman Catholic Church. Francis, 88, died unexpectedly on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he repeatedly clashed with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalised. The pontiff spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year for double ...