As hundreds of millions of people around the world mourn the passing of Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic Church is preparing to lay him to rest – an event expected to draw hundreds of thousands of mourners even as costs are likely to be significantly less than those of his predecessors.
Francis’s body has been lying in state since Wednesday at St Peter’s Basilica, allowing the faithful to pay their respects. World leaders, including United States President Donald Trump, are also expected at the Vatican to attend his funeral, which is slated for Saturday morning.
Unlike his predecessors, Francis requested a more modest burial. In 2024, he changed the longstanding burial rules that required three coffins – two made of cypress and oak, and one of lead, one inside the other. Under the new rules, popes can now be buried in a single coffin made of wood and lined with zinc. The rule change also allows for burial outside the Vatican, per Francis’s wishes.
His coffin will be transferred to the Basilica of St Mary Major, a church outside the Vatican’s walls, where he had asked for a simple tomb in the ground. Francis will be the first pope to be buried there since the 1600s, and the first in more than 100 years to be buried outside the Vatican.
Elected to the papacy in 2013, Francis was known for embracing a humble lifestyle. The Argentine-born pope chose to live in the Vatican guest house rather than the lavish Apostolic Palace, and often travelled in modest vehicles.
“He always was more enthusiastic about going places where normal people lived, not the halls of power, the palaces and so on. That was very typical of him,” Massimo Faggioli, professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, told Al Jazeera.
In his last will and testament released Monday, Francis said his burial would be covered by an unnamed benefactor whom he had previously arranged, and that would be sent to the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
“It’s about symbols, because in Catholicism, symbols are very important, and this is one of those cases,” Faggioli added.
Vatican financial woes loom
The Vatican has been tight-lipped about the specific cost of Francis’s funeral and did not respond to requests for figures.
Historically, papal funerals have cost millions. In 1978, the deaths of two popes and the subsequent conclave cost the Vatican $20m – equivalent to more than $101m today. More recently, Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005, and his successor Pope Benedict XVI’s election, cost $9m (about $14.7m in today’s dollars).
That year, the Church brought in $12.4m in revenues from a tourist influx to its museums. Other sources of income include donations, stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments.
But in recent years, the Church has faced significant financial headwinds. Francis frequently clashed with cardinals over Church finances, including just three days before his hospitalisation in late February. He spearheaded a series of financial reforms – some of which sparked backlash – including cutting salaries for top-ranking officials.
Just last year, the Church had a $87m budget shortfall, the news agency Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The Vatican has not published a full budget since 2022.
“The Vatican needs money, and it needs money because this is a much bigger church. Now it serves many more people in poor countries, and there are fewer Catholics in rich countries. And so that’s where the imbalance comes from,” Faggioli said.
Crowds descend on Rome
The city of Rome, and the Vatican in particular, was already crowded due to Holy Week, which drew hundreds of thousands of visitors.
It remains unclear how many people will stay to mourn Francis’s passing or stay to attend the public viewing of his body, but thus far, tens of thousands have already paid their respects.
Historically, the crowds have been vast. In 1978, an estimated 100,000 people gathered to mourn Paul VI. In 2005, Pope John Paul II brought in an estimated four million mourners to Rome for his funeral. In contrast, an estimated 50,000 people were at St Peter’s Square for Pope Benedict’s funeral in January 2023, with more than 136,000 people watching it on the Vatican’s YouTube livestream as the Church added in that option for recent papal funerals for those who won’t be in Rome.
For now, hotels are already booked. Residenza Paolo VI, one of the closest hotels to Vatican City, is fully booked through mid-May. TMark Hotel Vaticano is also sold out for the next week, according to its website.
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