President Droupadi Murmu of India visited St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Friday to pay her respects to His Holiness Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21 at the age of 88 after a prolonged illness. The President laid a wreath at the Basilica, joining over 130 foreign delegations, including 50 heads of state, in honoring the late pontiff during a solemn state funeral ceremony.
Pope Francis’ body was brought to St. Peter’s Basilica on April 23 to lie in state for three days, allowing thousands of mourners from around the world to bid farewell. The setting inside the Basilica was marked by its grandeur and reverence, with Latin chants echoing through the halls as red-hatted cardinals, bishops in violet capes, and Swiss Guards in their iconic striped uniforms accompanied the proceedings. President Murmu, dressed in a traditional blue sari, placed flowers near the Pope’s body, which was displayed in a simple wooden coffin draped in red, reflecting the late Pope’s wishes for a humble farewell.
Pope Francis, known for his emphasis on simplicity, had revised papal funeral rites in 2024 to focus on his role as a pastor and disciple of Christ rather than a worldly leader. These changes, as explained by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, aimed to express the Church’s faith in the risen Christ more deeply. The revisions stripped away elaborate rituals, opting for a more modest ceremony, a stark contrast to the pomp seen in previous papal funerals, such as that of Pope Benedict XVI in 2022.
The funeral mass for Pope Francis is scheduled for April 26, to be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, marking the culmination of a global outpouring of grief for a pontiff who led the Catholic Church through challenging times, including the COVID-19 pandemic. President Murmu’s presence at the Basilica underscored India’s respect for Pope Francis’ legacy of compassion and humility, as well as the strong diplomatic ties between India and the Vatican.
