The funeral service for Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88, is well underway, and the touching obituary the pontiff was entombed with has been revealed.
The Pope’s coffin was sealed hours ago, before being brought out of St Peter’s Basilica into the square.
With his body, an obituary describing his tenure as 266th Pope of the Catholic Church was placed with him, recalling how he was a ‘simple and much-loved shepherd’.
It added that Francis will ‘remain in the heart of the Church and of humanity’, after he ‘travelled far and wide across the city on the underground and the bus, cooking his own meals because he felt one of the people’.
‘Francis has left everyone a wonderful testimony of humanity, life of a saint and universal fatherhood,’ it said.
Ahead of his funeral on today, the camerlengo – appointed by the late Pope before his death – arranged for the pontiff’s ring to be destroyed.
Referred to as the Fisherman’s Ring, the papal ring is unique to each Pope and cannot be replicated.
The rings are designed and crafted in Rome by artisans who are members of the Roman Guild of Goldsmiths.
Before 120 cardinals, senior members of the Catholic Church, convene in the Sistine Chapel for the conclave – the secret meeting at which a new pope will be elected – the Church enters a period called ‘the vacant see’.
Following the funeral, there are nine days of official mourning, with the conclave required to begin 15 to 20 days after the sede vacante is declared, although it can start sooner if the cardinals agree.
Some of his testament reads: ‘As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial.
‘Throughout my life, and during my ministry as a priest and bishop, I have always entrusted myself to the, mother of our lord, the blessed Virgin Mary.
‘For this reason, I ask that my mortal remains rest – awaiting the day of the resurrection – in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
‘I wish my final earthly journey to end precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary, where I would always stop to pray at the beginning and end of every apostolic journey, confidently entrusting my intentions to the Immaculate Mother, and giving thanks for her gentle and maternal care.’
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