Funeral for Pope John Paul II Set for Friday

Two days after the death of one of the longest-serving and most contentious figures in papal history, the Vatican set the funeral of Pope John Paul II for Friday, with burial in the grotto of St. Peter's Basilica, where pontiffs throughout the ages have been laid to rest.

"The funeral Mass for John Paul II will be celebrated on Friday, April 8 at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square," announced Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls after the College of Cardinals held two meetings in its first gatherings ahead of a secret vote later this month to elect a successor to the late pontiff.

According to the Associated Press, Friday’s funeral is expected to draw up to 2 million people, including heads of state from around the world. President Bush and his wife confirmed they would attend, as did Spain's prime minister. Prince Charles put off his wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles for a day so he could attend.

Under Vatican tradition, Friday is the latest the funeral could have been held.

"The funeral liturgy will be celebrated by the cardinals and the patriarchs of the Oriental Churches. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside," Navarro-Valls said in a statement released by the Vatican. "At the end of the liturgy, the casket of the Roman Pontiff will be brought into the Vatican Basilica and then into the Vatican Grottoes for burial."

The spokesman noted that the body of John Paul II would rest in the same place where Pope John XXIII was entombed. The remains of the this Pope, who died in 1963, were moved from the grottos to the Vatican Basilica on June 3, 2001, nine months after his beatification on September 3, 2000.

John Paul will be buried immediately after the 10am (8am GMT) funeral, Navarro-Valls said.

There had been speculation that the pope might have left orders to be buried in his native Poland, but Navarro-Valls said John Paul "did not show any such wish."





Kenneth Chan
Ecumnical Press