St Peter’s Basilica

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 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...

July 1, 2024 10:34 PM

Vatican bans tattoos and body piercings for St Peter’s Basilica workers

The Vatican has banned workers at St Peter's Basilica from having visible tattoos or body piercings to maintain "decorum". The new regulation, published at the weekend, applies to the roughly 170 lay employees of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the department in charge of the basilica. Father Enzo Fortunato, head of communications for the basilica, said on Monday that it codifies norms that "have been in place in the past in a different form". However, he denied Italian press reports indicating t...