Members of the Swiss Guard stand next to the coffin containing Pope Francis' body, on the day of the translation of his body, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, April 23. (OSV News/Reuters/Yara Nardi)
The body of Pope Francis is now lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica.
The pontiff’s mortal remains, lying in an open wooden casket, departed on Wednesday from Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guest house where he lived for 12 years after his election in 2013.
The coffin was carried through St. Peter's Square into the basilica, where it will remain until his funeral on Saturday.
The procession with Pope Francis' body, who will lie in state at St. Peter's Basilica for three days, passes through the crowd at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23. (AP/Gregorio Borgia)
The bells of St. Peter’s tolled as the coffin was escorted by a procession of cardinals and Swiss Guards.
The basilica will remain open on Wednesday and Thursday evening until midnight to allow the faithful to pay their respects. The public mourning period will end on Friday at 7 p.m. in Rome.
The pope’s body traversed the route path the pope had gone via popemobile a few days earlier as he greeted the throngs gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.
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Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter's Basilica, on the day of its transfer, at the Vatican, April 23. (OSV News/Reuters/Dylan Martinez)
Francis is to be the first pope to be interred outside the Vatican in more than a century and a fitting resting place for a man who prized his independence.
Francis' funeral rites will follow a more simplified version of the Vatican's traditional liturgy for the death of the pope, following the late pontiff's wishes.
Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, said in an interview with Vatican News that Francis asked for the modifications so that the "funeral would better express the church's faith in the risen Christ."
The revised rites, Ravelli said, highlight "even more that the Roman Pontiff's funeral is that of a shepherd and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful man of this world."
Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin into St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on the day of its translation, as seen from Rome, Italy, April 23. (OSV News/Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach)
