The Nine Days of Mourning: The Pope is laid in state in St. Peter’s Basilica, permitting the faithful to pay their respects. Every day, each Cardinal celebrates a Memorial Mass. Between the fourth and sixth day of this period, a Solemn Funeral is celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, with the other Cardinals. The College of Cardinals will also declare an official mourning period of nine days, called the Novendiales, which, during the Vacancy after the death of Pope St. John Paul II, began on the day of the funeral, counted as Day 1 of the Novendiales. On each of the nine days, a different Cardinal celebrates a public funeral rite for the Holy Father, following the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis (2024). While Popes are typically entombed in the crypt of St. Peter’s, Pope Francis has directed that after his funeral, he is to be entombed at the Papal Marian Basilica of St. Mary Major. They will then prepare for the Conclave, which can begin on Day 16, and we will be on the lookout for the white smoke, to indicate that we have a new pope.
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