CNN
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Pope Francis’s wooden coffin was sealed this Friday night, local time, in a private rite that officially puts an end to three days of his body in wake in the Vatican.
Approximately 250,000 people passed through the Basilica of San Pedro to give their last respect to Francisco, who was the first Pope in Latin America and the first of the Jesuit order.
The liturgical closing rite of his coffin was directed by cardinal Camarlengo Kevin Farrell, the interim chief of the Church, who has the task of making the arrangements for the funeral of the Pope. Farrell, a cleric born in Dublin who became an American naturalized citizen, was previously the bishop of Dallas, in Texas.
Other church officials attended, including the Archbishop of Venezuela, the Brazilian Prelate and the secretaries of the late Pope, according to the Vatican press office. An American cardinal accused of poorly managing clerical sexual abuse, archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, has also been mentioned as part of the 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 sentences and a moment for silent prayer.
Farrell extended a white silk veil on the face of the late Pope and sprayed the body with blessed water, according to the service order published by the Vatican press office earlier this week.
Following the tradition, Camarlengo placed several objects inside the coffin before sealing it, including the Pope’s Pallium (the long white robe he used), coins coined during his pontificate and a writing that summarizes the most prominent aspects of his mandate.
The rite concluded with a hymn to the Virgin Mary.
“During the night, the Cabildo de San Pedro will ensure a presence of prayer and vigil in the pontiff’s body, to the preparations for the Holy Mass tomorrow (Saturday) in the morning,” said the Vatican in a statement at the end of the rite.
As part of Francisco’s impulse for simplifying papal funeral rites, his body is in a single wooden coffin, instead of having three nested coffins of cypress, lead and oak, as was the tradition.
Outside the basilica, the streets that lead to the Vatican were much more busy on Friday afternoon than at the beginning of the week, with thousands of people joining the row to pass by the coffin before the church closed the public at 7 pm local time (1 pm, Miami time).
On Friday marks the fourth day of national mourning in Italy and a holiday – day of liberation – which means that many places had more time to join the line. Others traveled from farther places after knowing the news of the death of the Pope.
“It was wonderful to see him,” said Joana Veiga, from Porto, Portugal, who arrived with her sister in the morning. “It was very peaceful, quiet.” His sister lost the opportunity to see Francisco last year in Portugal, and she was grateful to arrive on time for her wake.
The funeral of Pope Francis will take place on Saturday in the steps in front of the Basilica of San Pedro at 10 am local time (4 am, Miami time). That will mark the beginning of the ancient tradition of the novenarian, nine days of mourning by the deceased Pope, during which funeral masses are celebrated every day within the basilica.
His final resting place, in the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor de Rome, will also be simple in style. He will be made of Liguria marble, in northern Italy, where his great -grandfather was. He asked that the grave had no ornamented decoration, including only one image of the cross that he used as a archbishop of Buenos Aires and the Latin inscription of his papal name: Franciscus.
