Vatican City
CNN
—
Pope Francis’ wooden coffin was sealed on Friday night, in a private rite that officially ends three days of his body lying in state at the Vatican.
About 250,000 people filed through St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their final respects to Francis, who was the first pope from Latin America and the first from the Jesuit order.
The liturgical rite of closing his coffin was led by the Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell, the acting head of the church, who is tasked with making arrangements for the pope’s funeral. Farrell, a Dublin-born cleric who became a naturalized American citizen, was formerly the Bishop of Dallas, in Texas.
Other church officials assisted, including the Venezuelan archbishop, the Brazilian prelate and the late pope’s secretaries, according to the Vatican press office. A US cardinal accused of mismanaging clerical sexual abuse – the retired archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony – has also been listed as playing an official role.
Some relatives of the late pope also participated in the rite, according to the Vatican.
The ceremony, which took place behind closed doors, included several short songs, spoken prayers and a moment for silent prayer.
Farrell spread a white silk veil over the late pope’s face and sprinkled the body with holy water, according to an order of service released by the Vatican press office earlier this week.
In keeping with tradition, the camerlengo placed several possessions inside the coffin before sealing it, including the pope’s pallium – the long white robe he wore – coins minted during his pontificate and a deed summarizing the highlights of his tenure.
The rite concluded with a hymn to Mary.
“During the night, the Chapter of St. Peter’s will ensure a presence of prayer and vigil at the body of the Pontiff, until the preparations for Holy Mass tomorrow (Saturday) morning,” the Vatican said in a statement after the rite ended.
As part of Francis’ push to simplify the papal funeral rites, his body is in a single wooden coffin, rather than having three nested coffins of cypress, lead and oak as was tradition.
Outside the basilica, the streets leading to the Vatican were much busier on Friday afternoon than they were earlier in the week, with thousands joining the line to file past the coffin before the church closed to the public at 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET).
Friday marks the fourth day of national mourning in Italy and a public holiday – Liberation Day – meaning many locals had more time to join the line. Others traveled from much farther away following news of the pope’s death.
“It was wonderful to see him,” said Joana Veiga, from Porto, Portugal, who arrived with her sister in the morning. “It was very peaceful – calm.” Her sister missed a chance to see Francis last year in Portugal, and was thankful that they made it in time for his lying in state.
Pope Francis’ funeral will take place on Saturday on the steps outside of St. Peter’s Basilica at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET). That will mark the beginning of the ancient tradition of the Novendiales, nine days of mourning for the deceased pope during which funeral Masses are held each day inside the basilica.
His final resting place, in Rome’s Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, will also be simple in style. It will be made of marble from Liguria, northern Italy, where his great-grandfather was from. He asked that the tomb not have ornate decoration, instead only including an image of the cross he wore as Archbishop of Buenos Aires and the Latin inscription of his papal name: Franciscus.
CNN’s Christopher Lamb and James Frater contributed to this report.
