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Funeral Of Pope John Paul IiThe Funeral of Pope John Paul II commenced upon the death of the pope on April 2, 2005 in Vatican City. Pope John Paul II revised the rituals of papal death, repose and burial on February 22, 1996, which has been applied to his own funeral. The official mourning period for the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Rite was proclaimed for nine days with ceremonial rituals that survived millennia to celebrate the life of Pope John Paul II and mourn for his loss. Coinciding with the funeral in Vatican City, archbishops and bishops at cathedrals throughout the world celebrated memorial masses for grieving Roman Catholics. A historical rarity, Protestant Christian leaders offered memorials and prayers of their own for their grieving congregants. Leaders of Judaism and Islam offered the same. The Funeral of Pope John Paul II will be the first in which the sitting Archbishop of Canterbury who is leader of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion will be present. (The Church of England is a Christian denomination not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.) This will also be the first papal funeral with substantial official representation from the Eastern Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim faiths. Death Centuries of sacred rituals are set in motion upon the death of a pope. Such rituals are administered by the papal chamberlain or camerlengo. When Pope John Paul II died, Papal Chamberlain Eduardo Cardinal Martnez Somalo removed the Pope's Ring of the Fisherman from his finger. The Cardinal then ceremonially smashed the ring with the ceremonial silver hammer in the presence of members of the College of Cardinals. This is done to prevent the creation of forged, backdated documents, appearing to be approved by John Paul II. After the ring's destruction, Cardinal Somalo cordoned off and placed wax seals on the entrances to the Pope's private bedroom and study. This tradition originates from ruthless cardinals looting the papal chambers upon the death of past popes. Cardinal Somalo issued the Pope's formal death certificate on the evening of his death. The Cardinal then ceremonially ordered the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, to summon the cardinals of the world to Vatican City to elect a new pope. Some traditions have been omitted, the result of changes made by Pope John Paul II to the formula of rituals upon the death of a pope. One of these would have required Cardinal Somalo to tap the head of the pope with the ceremonial hammer and call out his birth name three times, to ensure the pope was truly dead. While past popes had their organs removed and embalmed after death, Pope Saint Pius X ended this practice. Pope John Paul II was consequently not embalmed, and is lying in state without normal treatment for preservation. Vestments Pope John Paul II's body is clothed in a priest's suit over which is placed a plain white alb. A stole, representing the pastoral nature of the office of priest, is placed around his neck. Over the inner vestments, Pope John Paul II is clothed in the red chasuble he wore at each Ash Wednesday, Holy Week and Pentecost. The red color represents the blood of the martyrs, signifying Pope John Paul II's willingness to shed his own blood for the Christian faith. Around his collar, the pallium of white lamb's wool is draped. A white zucchetto and a bishop's mitre adorn Pope John Paul II's head. In his arm rests his famous crozier or pastoral staff. His hands clasp a rosary. Mass of Repose The Mass of Repose, a sacred ritual offered to anyone baptized in the Roman Catholic Church, was led by Angelo Cardinal Sodano on April 3, 2005. That Sunday service coincided with the celebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy, a memorial feast instituted by Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Sodano stirred excitement by some devotees of the pope when in his published written homily for the Mass of Repose, he referred to Pope John Paul the Great. Under Vatican rules, what is written by members of the College of Cardinals during the interregnum is deemed official. The Mass of Repose, commemorating the sending of the soul to God, was followed by the recitation of the Regina Coeli. Lying in state After Cardinal Solano ceremonially confirmed the death of Pope John Paul II, the Pope's body was moved to the Clementine Room in the Apostolic Palace on April 3 for private viewing by Vatican officials. Several government officials of Italy were also invited to take part in the private service. Pope John Paul II's body was laid on a sloped, olive-sheeted bed, propped on a stack of gold pillows. On Monday, April 4, the Papal Gentlemen (also known as the "Gentlemen of His Holiness") moved his body to a bier covered in red and transported his body in procession with cardinals, bishops, monks, priests and members of the Swiss Guard to St. Peter's Basilica to lie in state. As they processed across St. Peter's Square, the monks carried lit tapers and sang the Kyrie Eleison ("Lord Have Mercy") first, followed by a recitation of the "Litaniae Sanctorum" (the Litany of the Saints), in which the answer to the invocation of each saint was "ora pro eo", meaning "pray for him", instead of the more usual "pray for us". The public will be allowed to view the body and pay their respects through Thursday, April 7. Mass of Requiem Cardinal Ratzinger will lead the Mass of Requiem scheduled for April 8, 2005, at 10:00am CEST (08:00 UTC), by virtue of his office as Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was also one of Pope John Paul II's closest friends and carried out most of the Pope's duties during his final illness. Concelebrating in the Mass of Requiem are the College of Cardinals and the patriarchs of the Eastern Rite. Friday was chosen in honor of Good Friday of the Passion of Jesus Christ. The mass at the St. Peter's Basilica will be the first Mass of Requiem for a pope to be televised live in almost every nation in the world. It will also have the largest group of foreign dignitaries present at a single event, more than those present at Sir Winston Churchill's state funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Interment The people of Poland had wished for the heart of Pope John Paul II to be removed from his body and transferred to Wawel Cathedral to be buried alongside the greatest of Poland's monarchs. Cardinal Somalo said that the request would not happen. An underground grotto beside the shrine of the glass-entombed and preserved body of Blessed Pope John XXIII was chosen for the interment of Pope John Paul II. He will be lowered into the vacant tomb that once held the remains of Blessed Pope John XXIII, who was moved by Pope John Paul II for beatification. The College of Cardinals decided to keep the Pope beneath the altar of St. Peter's Basilica citing the possibility of future beatification and canonization into sainthood. As is custom, Pope John Paul II will be entombed in three separate caskets. The body, face covered by a white silk veil, will be lowered into a cypress casket which will serve as the innermost coffin. Along with the body will be a sealed document, a eulogy detailing the life and works of Pope John Paul II. Three bags containing gold, silver and copper coins will also be placed beside the body. Each bag contains one coin for each year in Pope John Paul II's reign, the only monetary compensation he will receive for his service as pope. The cypress casket will be sealed and tied with three silk ribbons. The cypress casket will be lowered into a larger solid lead casket, which will be soldered shut. An engraving will have Pope John Paul II's name and the dates of his reign, as well as the image of a skull and crossbones. The lead casket will finally be lowered into a larger elm casket, which will be nailed shut with nails of pure gold. After the caskets are sealed, pallbearers will take the unified coffin through the Door of Death on the left side of the altar of St. Peter's Basilica. At that point a single bell will toll. The pallbearers will take the coffin down the stairs near the statue of Saint Longinius at the base of the canopy of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. They lead down to the grottoes, a cemetery underneath the Basilica where Saint Peter is also believed to be buried. After pacing through the low ceilings and long corridors, the pallbearers will stop at the crypt of Pope John Paul II. The coffin will be lowered into the ground, as the Pope requested, and covered with a plain stone slab featuring his name, birth and death dates. Pope John Paul II asked that he not be placed in an elaborate sarcophagus and ornate above-ground tomb, as was done to his predecessors. Dignitaries Before the College of Cardinals could offer official customary invitations to the various heads of state and government, over 200 foreign officials expressed their desire to attend the Mass of Requiem and Interment. Among the most familiar faces worldwide are the current and former Presidents of the United States, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prince of Wales and United Nations Secretary-General. Also expressing the desire to attend was Mohammad Khatami of Iran, not normally tolerant of Christianity in his own country. Resources
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