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gozotoday | FRIDAY • 25 APRIL 2025
NEWS
The pope to be laid to rest on Saturday morning
THE Vatican announced that
the funeral of Pope Francis
will take place tomorrow, with
preparations having been on-
going to allow the public to pay
their respects from Wednesday
morning."
"I wish to be buried in the
ground, without particular dec-
oration," the late Pope had writ-
ten in his final testament, re-
questing a modest burial at the
Basilica of Saint Mary Major in
Rome rather than the tradition-
al site of St Peter's Basilica.
Pope Francis, 88, passed away
following a stroke that led to a
coma and irreversible heart fail-
ure, on Easter Monday.
He will be the first Pope in
more than a century not to
be buried in the Vatican, in
the crypt of St Peter's Basili-
ca, choosing instead to be laid
to rest in Rome's Basilica of St
Mary Major, near his favourite
icon of the Madonna.
Pope Francis in Gozo with Bishop Anton Teuma (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)
Followers gathered in the early hours of the morning to secure their seat to watch Pope Francis speak (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)
JULIANA ZAMMIT
jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt
