The Vatican has released stunning images of Pope Francis lying in an open casket and wearing a red robe with the papal mitre — a ceremonial headdress for bishops.
Check out the series of photos … His Holiness seems super serene as he lies motionless inside the red casket to match his pontiff garb with a rosary laced between his crossed hands.
One pic shows a bishop standing over the body, staring down at Francis seemingly in disbelief that he’s passed away.
Francis was placed in the coffin Monday night in the chapel of the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, where Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church — who is the acting head of the Vatican until a new pope is selected — read his official death declaration.
Cardinal Farrell can be seen presiding over the rite of ascertainment of death with ceremonial guards close by. The intimate ceremony also welcomed the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Pope Francis’ family members, and high-ranking officials such as Director of Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Governorate of Vatican City State Andrea Arcangeli, as well as Pope Francis’ personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone.
As we reported, Cardinal Farrell announced Pope Francis’ death on Monday morning. He died after suffering a stroke that left him in a coma, which caused irreversible heart failure. As you know, the stroke followed his weeks-long hospitalization with pneumonia and bronchitis.
Pope Francis’ body will be on display for public mourning beginning on Wednesday, and his funeral will be held on Saturday, following the rule that he must be buried between four and six days after his death.
The formal process of selecting a new pope generally takes between two and three weeks and requires an individual to obtain a two-thirds majority vote by the College of Cardinals.
