International
From the transfer of the coffin to the funeral, three days to say goodbye to Pope Francis
The public funeral of Pope Francis will begin this Wednesday, with the transfer of the coffin to St. Peter’s Basilica to receive the tribute of the faithful, who will have three days to say goodbye to the pontiff, until Saturday, when the funeral and the funeral of the pontiff will be held.
The coffin with the body of Francisco, who died this Monday at the age of 88 due to a stroke after months of suffering serious respiratory problems, has been veiled since his death in his residence of the Casa Santa Marta at the express request of the pope, who made some changes in the rules to simplify the funerals of the pontiffs.
From today, the faithful, with whom Francisco liked so much to surround themselves to feel his closeness and affection, will be able to go to the basilica to say goodbye during three intense days in which the temple will be open Wednesday and Thursday until midnight.
At 9.00, local time (10.00 GMT), and after a moment of prayer, chaired by the carmarlengo, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, “the translation” of the body will begin, as decided by the 60 cardinals participating this Tuesday in the first general congregation or preparatory meeting for the conclave.
The procession will pass through Santa Marta Square and the Roman Protomartyrs Square and from the Arch of the Bells will exit to St. Peter’s Square and enter the Vatican Basilica through the central door.
Then on the Altar of Confession, under the canopy, the chamberlened cardinal will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, at the end of which the visit of the faithful will begin.
The funerals will be on Saturday, April 26 at 10.00, local time (8.00 GMT), in St. Peter’s Square, while tomorrow, Wednesday, the coffin will be transferred to the Vatican Basilica to receive the tribute of the faithful.
The ceremony, which is scheduled for the arrival of Heads of State from all over the world, will begin at 10.00 local time (8.00 GMT) and will be officiated by the dean of the college of cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re.
Then, the coffin will be transferred to the basilica of Santa María la Mayor to be buried, as the Argentine pontiff left in his will.
“Thank you for bringing me back to the Square,” Francisco said to his personal health assistant, Massimiliano Strappetti, for encouraging him to make his last trip on the papamobile on Sunday, after the Urbi et Orbi blessing, touring St. Peter’s Square among the faithful.
These words, among the last of the pontiff, according to the Vatican media, show once again the importance that “the pope of the disadvantaged” gave to contact with people, even in their last hours.
“Around 5.30 in the morning the first symptoms appeared, with the prompt intervention of those who took care of him. More than an hour later, after greeting Strappetti, who was lying in bed in his apartment on the second floor of Casa Santa Marta, the pope fell into a coma. He didn’t suffer, everything happened quickly, says someone who was by his side in those last moments,” Vatican news revealed.
According to the date chosen for the funeral and the rules governing the process, the conclave must be held between May 5 and 15, since no more than 20 days should pass and the funerals, the so-called Novediales, in which suffrage masses are held by the late pontiff, cannot be called during the successive days.
Despite having been elected mostly by Pope Francis, the 135 cardinals from 71 countries who will form the conclave that will choose their successor are a heterogeneous group that is not known and without a common idea about the future of the Church, which will make them present themselves in the Sistine Chapel strongly divided.
There are many differences with respect to the conclave that met twelve years ago to elect Jorge Bergoglio: one is the number of cardinal electors, that is, those who are under 80 years old on the day of the pope’s resignation or death, which is much greater than on other occasions, and another, the largest number of countries from which they come.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
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Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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