From the day Pope Francis was elected to lead the Catholic Church in 2013, it was clear that he’d be doing things a little differently than his predecessors. The night of his election, for instance, he took a bus back to his hotel instead of riding in the official papal car. He has also spent the last 11 years living in a guest house behind St. Peter’s Basilica rather than residing in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace. All in all, Pope Francis has lived a humble, simple, “no-frills” papacy — and now he’s ensured that his last rites will be carried out in the same manner.
On November 20, Pope Francis approved a much simplified edition of the “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis,” or “Funeral Rites of the Roman Pontiff” book. This volume details how every aspect of the death and disposition of a pope should be handled, from who is the first person to be notified of his passing to how the burial will be completed. The last time the rites were updated was in 1998; those directions were followed for the funerals of St. John Paul in 2005 and for Pope Benedict XVI, who retired in 2013 and died in 2022.
Downsized coffin structure
One of the biggest departures from recent papal rites — and certainly the most publicized change — is Pope Francis’ request to rest in a simple zinc-lined wooden casket rather than within three interlocking coffins, bucking a tradition that has stood for hundreds of years.
The coffin-within-a-coffin-within-a-coffin structure was created for practical as well as symbolic purposes. First, the triple layers created an airtight seal around the pope’s body, with the middle soldered-shut lead layer ensuring durability and providing a surface into which the pope’s name and dates of his pontificate are engraved.
Inside the lead coffin was a smaller one made of cypress wood, which represented the commonness and humanity of the pope resting within. Inside the cypress coffin would be a copy of the eulogy read at the pope’s funeral Mass as well as three bags of coins: silver, gold, and copper, with the number of each representing the number of years he served.
The exterior wooden coffin was made of elm, one of the most precious woods available in Rome. Before the final coffin was nailed shut with golden nails, a parchment listing the achievements of the pope would be inserted into a copper tube and placed inside the casket.
Pope Francis’s simple zinc-lined coffin will form a hermetic seal and will preserve the coffin’s structure and integrity, even as the exterior wood deteriorates. It’s not clear how the engraving and insertion of coins and documents will be handled, although those provisions are most certainly included in the final version of the rites book.
Simplify, simplify, simplify
At Pope Francis’ request, the new “Funeral Rites of the Roman Pontiff” includes several other measures that reflect his dedication to simplicity and humility more akin to a commoner than the head of the Catholic Church. These include:
- Burial will take place outside of the Vatican for the first time in 100 years. Instead of being laid to rest with 91 other popes in the grottoes beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis will be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major) basilica in Rome. St. Mary’s is the church the pope usually goes to pray before traveling abroad.
- Rather than his body being displayed on an elevated bier for public viewing, Pope Francis’ body will be placed in his simple coffin with the lid removed.
- Pope Francis’ death will be pronounced in his private chapel, rather than in the room where he dies.
Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, told Vatican News that the revised rites highlight “even more that the Roman Pontiff’s funeral is that of a shepherd and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful man of this world.”
