Pope Francis' Funeral Will Follow His New, Simpler Rules: No More Triple Coffins, No Burial In The Vatican
In 2024, Pope Francis approved a new edition of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, the official liturgical book governing papal funerals. The updated rites removed several longstanding customs.
Pope Francis rewrote the script for papal funerals — merely months ahead of his death. The 88-year-old pontiff, who passed away shortly after a public appearance on Easter Sunday, has left behind not just a powerful spiritual legacy but also a new way for the Church to say goodbye to its leader.
The Vatican confirmed his death on Monday, with Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, announcing the Pope died at the Casa Santa Marta. Just a day earlier, Francis had surprised the faithful by appearing in the popemobile, waving to crowds in St. Peter’s Square.
A Papacy Defined by Reform
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires in 1936, Pope Francis was a trailblazer from the start. The first Jesuit pope, the first from Latin America, and the first non-European in more than 1,000 years, he made humility his hallmark. Choosing a simple Vatican guesthouse over the grand Apostolic Palace, Francis consistently pushed the Catholic Church toward reform — on issues ranging from climate change and migration to LGBTQ inclusion and capital punishment.
That spirit of reform extended to one of the Church’s most solemn traditions: the funeral of a pope.
What’s Changed: A Radical Shift in Papal Farewells
In November 2024, Pope Francis approved a new edition of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, the official liturgical book governing papal funerals. The updated rites do away with several longstanding customs.
What's Different?
Previously, the pope’s death was confirmed in his private quarters. Under the new rules, this will now occur in a chapel. The pope's body will be immediately placed in a coffin — open for public veneration — without the traditional sequence of three nested coffins made of cypress, lead, and oak.
“It’s a simplification,” said Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Master of Apostolic Ceremonies. “Pope Francis has requested it, as he himself has stated on several occasions of the need to simplify and adapt certain rites so that the celebration of the funeral of the Bishop of Rome may better express the faith of the Church in the Risen Christ.”
Another notable shift: the body will no longer be laid on an elevated bier in St. Peter’s Basilica. Instead, a simple coffin will suffice, reflecting Francis’ intent to be remembered not as a worldly figure of power, but as a pastor and disciple of Christ.
“The renewed rite also needed to emphasise even more that the funeral of the Roman Pontiff is that of a pastor and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful person of this world,” Ravelli noted.
A Pope Who Chose Modesty Even in Death
This overhaul wasn’t sudden. After the unprecedented 2022 death of retired Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican was prompted to reevaluate how to conduct funerals for modern popes. Francis, who discussed these revisions in a 2023 interview, had been personally involved in shaping the new liturgy.
In that same interview, he also shared a surprising detail: he would not be buried beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, as tradition dictates, but instead in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. It’s home to an icon he deeply reveres — Salus populi Romani, a Byzantine-style image of the Virgin Mary that Francis visits before and after each international trip.
“It’s my great devotion,” he told Mexican broadcaster N+. “The place is already prepared.”
As the Church prepares to bid farewell to Pope Francis, his final act may serve as his most symbolic — a call to humility, service, and simplicity, even in death.
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