Know what happens as soon as the Pope dies

When a leader of the Catholic Church dies, rites and standards established for centuries are once again put into practice. These are preserved traditions to this day, but they have undergone some modifications throughout history.

After the death is confirmed by doctors, the Cardinal Cardinal of the Church, a kind of “assistant” of the Pope, is the first to be notified to start all the procedures that end with the election of a new head of the Catholic Church.

First, the religious is called to the place where the body is and gives three hammers on the forehead of the dead pontiff while speaking the name of his baptism, also three times. Realized the death, begins a new phase of rites.

Sealed residence

The next step is the closure of the apartment and the Papais office. The rooms are sealed by Camerlengo and access is blocked until a new pontiff takes office after the conclave. Practice is a tradition of centuries and has been adopted throughout history to prevent the Pope’s residence from being looted after his death.

The official residence of the Pontiff is the Apostolic Palace, a construction that can be seen above the columns in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. But Pope Francis chose not to live there and chose to live at Casa Santa Marta. The place is also inside the Vatican and is known for hosting the cardinals during the conclave.

Destroyed ring

A striking rite after the pontiff’s death is the destruction of the fisherman’s so -called ring, symbol of papal power. The relic is named after disciple Peter, who was a fisherman and is also considered the first Pope in history and one of the founders of the Church of Rome. Even the Catholic Church considers that the chosen pontiffs are all successors of Peter.

Usually used on the right -hand ring finger, the ring has a St. Peter’s drawing and bears the Latin name chosen for the new Vatican chief. In this case, Franciscus. Traditionally, the ring is made of gold, but Pope Francis chose to use silver, but without St. Peter’s design. Only a cross is portrayed.

In the mid -twelfth century, the ring was used to seal and stamp Vatican documents or letters. It was common for the red wax to be placed still hot on the papers and the pontiff squeezed the ring over it so that the drawing was marked in the document.

It was a way to legitimize church letters and avoid counterfeiting. In the nineteenth century, this function of the ring was discontinued and since then a stamp is used. Moreover, in the Middle Ages, it was common for many faithful to kiss the ring as a symbol of respect for apostolic authority, but this has been lost over the centuries and today is not usually encouraged by the Vatican.

Occurred in front of the Cardinian College, the destruction of the fisherman’s ring happens shortly after death, is made by the Camerlengo to symbolize the end of the papacy.

But there is another meaning behind it: Breaking the relic in half is a way of preventing improperly used, for example, to forge documents during the time when the ring was used as a stamp.

The custom was changed in 2013, when Benedict XVI resigned. In this case, his ring was not destroyed because he was still alive. Instead, the Camerlengo marked a cross on the top using a buttonhole, a practice known as rigature.

Death Communication

Cardinal Cardeal is the first to know of the Pope’s death and must communicate to the dean of the Cardinian College and he informs the entire group. Death is also communicated to the head of the diocese of Rome, who gives the news to the public.

This system is explained in a kind of church constitution, called University Dominici Gregispromulgated by John Paul II in the 1990s. The confirmation of death also happens by the Vatican communication sector.

Funeral will be simpler

After all these rites, the funeral process begins. But this time, the world will watch a papal funeral in an unprecedented format, as the ceremony model was changed in 2024 by the Pope himself.

According to the document Ordo Exequerum Romani PontificisApproved by Francis, the idea is that the Pope who died will be portrayed as a “pastor and disciple of Christ” and not a powerful figure. Therefore, the whole rite must reinforce this distinction.

The new rules say the body will be placed immediately in a coffin and thus will be exposed to the public. In the previous format, three coffins were used: one cypress (a noble wood), one of lead and another of oak.

In the new model, only two are used: one of common wood and another internal made of zinc. In general, the whole papal funeral ceremony has been simplified, something that reflects a lot what was the papacy of Francis.

This content was originally published in know what happens as soon as the Pope dies on CNN Brazil.

Source: CNN Brasil