At their general congregation on April 25, the cardinals present in Rome—now numbering more than 150—handled the details of preparation for the funeral of Pope Francis, which will take place Saturday.

St. Peter’s basilica will be closed at 7 pm on Friday, allowing for the ceremonial closing of the papal casket, with Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo presiding. The basilica had remained open late on Thursday night, and opened again early Friday morning, to accommodate the thousands of people who filed through to pay their last respects.

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan cautioned against seeing a papal election in political terms, urging the faithful to pray for the guidance of the cardinals rather than campaign for their own favorites.

“Creating or sharing campaign videos, even with good intentions, risks turning a sacred discernment into a worldly spectacle,” Cardinal David said. “It may inadvertently pressure or politicize the conscience of the electors, and distract from the silence and prayer needed to truly hear the voice of the Spirit.”

The Israeli foreign ministry posted a short message of condolence on X (Twitter) after the death of Pope Francis, but then deleted that message, in what an AP story suggests is an indication of Israeli annoyance over the late Pontiff’s criticism of the destruction of Gaza.

“Rest in peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing,” was the brief message. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later issued his own quick statement, but will not attend the papal funeral.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, the retired Archbishop of Los Angeles, will play a ceremonial role in the burial of Pope Francis—a role that has sparked some controversy, since Cardinal Mahony was once relieved of his public ministry because of his failure to respond to sex-abuse complaints.

Cardinal Mahony retired in 2011, upon reaching the age of 75. As details of his handling of abuse complaints became public, in 2013 his successor, Archbishop José Gomez, announced that the cardinal would no longer play a public role in the work of the archdiocese. That ban was later quietly lifted, apparently after an intervention by the Vatican.

Cardinal Mahony will be one of several prelates chosen to assist at the closing of the coffin of Pope Francis. A Vatican spokesman said that he was chosen because he among the cardinals classified as “cardinal-priests,” he is the senior member available.

“Never will your soul be cleaner other than the moment of your original baptism than it is on that day–Divine Mercy Sunday.”

Nicole Winfield, the veteran Vatican correspondent for AP, offers her personal memories of Pope Francis, including a tense exchange about sex-abuse victims.

“He called me ‘la prima della classe‘ or ‘the first in the class.’ It wasn’t necessarily a compliment.”

Headed to Rome for the Jubilee of Teenagers? Here are three ways you can make the most of your pilgrimage to Rome following the death of Pope Francis.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Benedictine abbot and a Capuchin cardinal will offer spiritual meditations on the needs of the Catholic Church to the cardinals preparing to elect a new pope, according to the Vatican press office.

Benedictine Father Donato Ogliari, abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, will offer the first meditation soon after Pope Francis' funeral April 26, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office. 

Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the retired preacher of the papal household, will offer the second meditation inside the Sistine Chapel before members of the conclave begin to vote. Because Cardinal Cantalamessa is 90 years old, he is not eligible to participate in the voting.

The meditations should focus "on the problems facing the Church at the time and on the need for careful discernment in choosing the new Pope," according to the apostolic constitution, "Universi Dominici Gregis," containing the rules for running the church between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of a new one.

The two prelates were chosen April 24 during the third "general congregation," the title for the daily meetings of cardinals before the conclave begins. As of April 24, the cardinals had not decided what day the conclave would begin.

Bruni said 113 cardinals participated in the meeting April 24. Cardinals who arrived in Rome after the April 23 general congregation took their oaths at the beginning of the meeting. 

Cardinals are obliged to "promise, pledge and swear, as a body and individually, to observe exactly and faithfully all the norms" governing the period between the death of a pope and the election of a new one, and "to maintain rigorous secrecy with regard to all matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff."

The College of Cardinals currently has 252 members. The 117 cardinals who are ineligible to vote, mainly because of age, are still invited to participate in the general congregations. Bruni said he did not know how many of the 113 present April 24 were cardinal electors.

And while many of the cardinals still had not reached Rome, the cardinals began their discussions of the needs of the church and the world, with 34 cardinals speaking, Bruni said.
 

WASHINGTON – According to a new survey, nine in ten men who will be ordained to the priesthood this year were encouraged to consider this vocation by someone in their life. Three-quarters of them regularly participated in Eucharistic Adoration before entering the seminary.  “Encourage a young man to consider the priesthood or to attend Eucharistic Adoration; he could be your future pastor,” said Bishop Earl Boyea. “We express our deepest gratitude to the many priests, family members, mentors, formators, and laity who have encouraged and supported these men in their discernment of their call to the priesthood.” In conjunction with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on May 11, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations released the Ordination Class of 2025 Study, conducted annually by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.

“We pray for the continued fidelity of the newly ordained to the voice of God and for the faithful to whom they will minister,” said Bishop Boyea, who serves as chairman of the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations. “As witnesses of hope, we thank them for their courage to commit their lives to what Pope Francis said is a call that embraces their entire existence.” 

Out of the 405 men who are to be ordained this year, 309 completed CARA’s Ordination Class of 2025 survey, for an overall response rate of 76%. These ordinands represent 115 dioceses and eparchies in the United States and 36 distinct religious institutes.  

A few of the major findings in the report:  

• Nine in ten responding ordinands (89%) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life, most frequently by a parish priest (60%), friend (52%), or fellow parishioner (42%). 
• Regarding prayer practices, three-quarters of responding ordinands participated in Eucharistic Adoration (78%) on a regular basis before entering the seminary. 
• Most of the ordinands received formation at a seminary in the Midwest (37%) followed by the South (29%), Northeast (16%), West (13%), and abroad (5%). 
• Responding ordinands indicate they first considered priesthood during elementary school (35%), followed by high school (20%).  
• Hispanics/Latinos constituted 12% of the responding ordinands. Between 2006 and 2025, the share of Hispanics/Latinos averaged 15% and ranged between 11% and 22%. 
• Ordinands who attended Catholic elementary school constituted 46% of all respondents, and 36% attended a Catholic high school. 
• Most respondents (92%) were baptized Catholic as an infant and raised primarily by their biological parents (95%) and a married couple living together (89%).  

The full CARA report and profiles of the Ordination Class of 2025 can be accessed here.   

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Given the late Pope Francis' care and concern for the poor, a representative group of them has been formally invited to welcome his casket to Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major for burial.

"The poor have a privileged place in the heart of God," the Vatican press office said in a statement April 24. It was the same "in the heart and magisterium of the Holy Father, who had chosen the name Francis to never forget them."

"For this reason, a group of the poor and needy will be present on the steps leading to the papal Basilica of St. Mary Major to pay their last respects to Pope Francis before the burial of his coffin," the statement said.

The College of Cardinals decided Pope Francis' funeral would be celebrated April 26 in St. Peter's Square. In his final testament, Pope Francis asked to be buried at St. Mary Major where he frequently went to pray to seek Mary's help or to thank her for her assistance.

The Vatican said the pope's casket would be driven to the basilica from the Vatican through the city of Rome. The motorcade is supposed to move slowly so that members of the public along the route can salute him for the final time.

The actual burial is a prayerful rite that will not be broadcast live, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.

Pope Francis' tomb, in a niche in a side aisle of the basilica, is made of marble from Liguria and, in accordance with the pope's wishes, says simply, "Franciscus." A reproduction of his pectoral cross hangs above the marble slab. 

In his final testament, published by the Vatican a few hours after his death April 21, Pope Francis asked to be buried at St. Mary Major because he had entrusted his "priestly and episcopal life and ministry" to Mary.

"I wish my last earthly journey to end at this very ancient Marian shrine where I would go to pray at the beginning and end of each apostolic journey to confidently entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and to thank her for her docile and maternal care," he wrote.