Pope Francis funeral latest: US cardinal accused of mishandling sexual abuse cases chosen to close casket

As the world prepares to bid farewell to Pope Francis, Rome and the Vatican are being transformed into a fortress.

With 50 heads of state, 10 monarchs, and at least 130 foreign delegations due to attend Saturday’s funeral at St Peter’s Square, Italian and Vatican authorities are enforcing some of the tightest security measures seen in recent memory.

A no-fly zone has been declared, drones grounded, snipers positioned on rooftops, and fighter jets placed on standby.

Streets surrounding the Vatican are under strict control, with law enforcement agencies coordinating to manage the expected influx of hundreds of thousands of mourners.

Security officials are not only preparing for crowd management but also diplomatic sensitivities, as world leaders — including Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, Javier Milei, and Prince William — arrive in Rome.

The head of Pope Francis’s medical team has revealed new details about the pontiff’s final moments.

Francis died without undue suffering, and medical intervention could not have saved him, Dr Alfieri said.

He recounted receiving an urgent call around 5.30am on Monday, summoning him to the Vatican. Arriving about 20 minutes later, he found the Pope conscious but unresponsive.

“I entered his rooms and he (Francis) had his eyes open,” Dr. Alfieri told Corriere della Sera.

The Vatican is finalising preparations for Pope Francis’s funeral, scheduled for Saturday in St Peter’s Square, following his death at 88 on Monday from pneumonia.

Tens of thousands have paid their respects during his lying in state. His coffin will be sealed Friday evening in a ceremony led by Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

Over 130 foreign delegations, including 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs — among them Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, Prince William, and Argentina’s president Javier Milei — are expected to attend.

Security is tight, with snipers, drones blocked, and fighter jets on standby.

After the funeral, his coffin will be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore, marked simply as Franciscus.

Ireland’s postal service offers to send Mass or sympathy cards to the Vatican for free to people who wish to pay their respects to Pope Francis.

Post offices in Ireland have received queries from the public looking for advice on what was the correct address and stamp to use. In response, An Post said it would offer the service for free and send cards to the Vatican from Ireland in one batch in three weeks’ time.

An Post said: “Cards may be posted to the following PO Box for free until May 14 and An Post will ensure they are delivered directly to the Vatican: ‘Cards to the Vatican, PO Box 13812, FREEPOST, Dublin 1’.”

Mourners have criticised fellow visitors to St Peter’s Basilica for using their phones to take selfies alongside the body of the late Pope as he lies in state.

Janine Venables, a 53-year-old from Pontypridd told the MailOnline: “What did surprise me is the fact that earlier we were told no photos in the Sistine Chapel and here people were getting their phone out and doing selfies with the coffin. I did think that was a bit in poor taste and I’m surprised no one stopped them.”

Another visitor was reported as complaining that people had been “ignoring warnings” and taking photos instead of paying their respects properly, adding that it was “sad to see such disrespectful behaviour”.

The outlet cited a Vatican source as saying: “It would be good if people could try and remember where they are and have a little respect but there’s little else that can be done.”

Since Pope Francis’s death on Easter Monday, leaders from around the world have shared their tributes to the late pontiff, as 1.39 billion Catholics across the globe enter mourning.

Cardinals congregated the following day to establish the date of the funeral ahead of the papal conclave in which a new pope will be selected.

The pontiff had broken from tradition as he requested to be buried outside of Vatican grounds at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, with the inscription of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.

Steffie Banatvala and Bryony Gooch report:

Pope Francis’s funeral is set to differ from his predecessors, as he requested a simpler affair than the usual pomp.

While his predecessors St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI lay upon an elevated bier, Francis’s body rests inside a simple coffin barely raised from the floor of the basilica.

Francis chose to simplify the “Funeral Rites of the Roman Pontiff” to emphasise even more that the funeral of the Roman pontiff is that of a pastor and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful person of this world.

The new rites ask that the late pontiff is placed directly into a simple, open wooden coffin lined with zinc, where previous traditions saw a pope entombed in three different coffins – one of cypress wood, one of lead and one of oak.

Typically, the funeral rites are divided into three stations – their home, the Vatican basilica and the burial place.

The late Pope instead requested the first station be a chapel, even though it did form part of his home at the Casa Santa Marta residence.

Francis will also be buried outside the Vatican in Rome’s papal basilica of Saint Mary Major.

A retired US cardinal who has faced accusations of mishandling sexual abuse cases was chosen to help seal Pope Francis’s casket and entomb his remains during the burial rites.

Advocates for Catholic clergy sexual abuse victims are criticising the appointment of Roger Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011, for the ceremonial role at the Pope’s funeral. Mahony denies any wrongdoing.

Critics say his involvement sends a harmful message of impunity within Church leadership.