Naagyei 90.3 Fm Agyapa
Several images of Pope Francis resting in an open coffin in the chapel of his old home, Casa Santa Marta, have been made public by the Vatican.
We’ve looked at some of the meaning in the pictures and who was in the church.
Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Pope’s “camerlengo” or chamberlain, is the most prominent person in the room. He oversees the Vatican until a new Pope is appointed. The cardinal is depicted blessing the deceased Pope’s body at the ceremony of the pronouncement of death while wearing a scarlet mozzetta and cassock.
Pope Francis is wearing the papal mitre, a huge white ceremonial headgear, and is wearing red robes. He is also holding a rosary. Additionally, he’s wearing a basic silver.
The Fisherman’s Ring, a symbol of Pope Francis’ position, was presented to him during his inauguration. Cardinal Farrell is tasked with destroying it so that no one else can use it.
Pope Francis was more frequently spotted wearing the plain silver ring with a cross on it, however he occasionally wore this ring at rituals.
The coffin in which Pope Francis will be laid to rest is one of the major departures from custom. Pope Francis requested to be buried in a plain wooden casket, however the coffins used for prior papal burials were three nesting coffins composed of cypress, lead, and oak.
While earlier popes have been positioned on cushions on a platform, he will stay in the open casket during the lying in state.
The chapel itself is housed in the Casa Santa Marta, a 1996-erected residential complex with about 100 basic rooms.
The chapel’s ceiling and floor tiles both feature triangles, which stand for the Holy Trinity, a central tenet of Christianity that holds that God exists in three distinct forms: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Latin phrase “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful” is inscribed on the ceiling behind the coffin.
Members of the Vatican’s Swiss Guard protect the Pope’s body. Since Julius II originally employed Swiss mercenaries for his own protection in 1506, they have provided protection to the Pope.
Pope Francis will remain in the chapel until Wednesday morning, when a procession carrying his remains will begin at 9:00 local time and head to St. Peter’s Basilica. Before his funeral on Saturday, mourners can pay their respects in the basilica, where he will lie in an open coffin from that point on.
