VATICAN, Italy – It’s now evident that Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will be held in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 10 am, according to a Tuesday announcement from the Holy See Press Office.
Patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests from all around the world will consecrate the Mass, which will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals.
The Ultima commendatio and the Valedictio, which signal the start of the Novemdiales—nine days of grief and Masses for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul—will mark the end of the Eucharistic feast.
The late pope’s body will then be taken into St. Peter’s Basilica and then to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for entombment.
However, before Pope Francis is laid to rest, Y News looks inside his daily routine when he served as the head of the Catholic church until his demise early Easter Monday morning.
4:30 a.m.:
The Pope was reportedly a very early riser. He was always up before 5 a.m. and then spent the next two hours praying, studying scripture, and getting the morning’s homily prepared.
His digs were surprisingly modest, too. Traditionally, the Pope resides in the grand papal apartment at the top of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, but Pope Francis felt he would be more comfortable in a two-room home in the Domus Santa Marta, a hotel-style building located behind a gas station, of all places.
His neighbours included the cardinals who selected him during the conclave.
7 a.m.:
Pope Francis would head down to celebrate mass in Santa Martha’s chapel, usually dressed down in a simple liturgical cloth. Rather than make a grand entrance with an entourage of altar boys, he chose to slip in from the side.
Sébastien Maillard, the Vatican correspondent for Rome’s La Croix, described this semi-public event as “the most privileged way to watch and get close to him.”
The Pope always framed his message with a “thought of the day,” and when he was finished, he moved silently to the back of the chapel to pray among the select attendees.
As the pope left, he made sure to personally greet every person gathered outside the chapel in the atrium.
8 a.m.:
Following mass, Pope Francis made his way to the hotel’s cafeteria for breakfast. He had a “usual” table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and never dined alone. A few privileged guests kept him company, while other visitors sat in the dining hall and tried not to stare at him too much.
So, what does a papal breakfast look like?
For Pope Francis, it was normally freshly squeezed orange juice and membrillo (quince paste)—a popular dish from his homeland, Argentina.
If he didn’t have a day full of official meet-and-greets, Pope Francis would withdraw after breakfast to his second-floor Santa Marta residence. The entire floor was appropriated to serve as a home office for him, and according to journalist Antonio Spadaro, “the setting is simple and austere. The workspace occupied by the desk is small.” Decorations were restricted to religious objects.
The Pope busied himself by reading, reciting the rosary, or travelling to the Apostolic Palace to address formal audiences.
Pope Francis liked to be in charge of his papal routine as much as possible. He decides who he sees and for how long. Often, the Pope would book the appointments himself over the phone. If he received a letter he felt especially touched by, he’d phone the sender directly.
The Pope often spent his Sundays corresponding with his friends in Argentina, including those in prison he used to visit while living there.
1 p.m.:
Pope Francis usually returned to the Santa Marta dining room for lunch. The food served was in the style of a typical Italian trattoria. According to visitors, he was not a fussy eater at all, happily eating anything he was given.
However, Pope Francis admitted that he was particularly fond of one famous Italian speciality: pizza. He missed going out and getting one after watching his soccer team, San Lorenzo, play in his home city of Buenos Aires.
By the mid-afternoon, his Holiness had been up since sunrise (or before, depending on the time of year). So, after lunch, the Pope typically paused his working day to take a siesta. His naps usually lasted between 40 minutes and an hour.
Afterwards, he picked up work again, normally devoting the evening to correspondence.
The Pope told journalists, “My life is as normal as I can make it.” But his sheltered existence could sometimes be a little too confining for him. “I would like to get out,” he commented.
“But it can’t be done… and not for safety reasons, either. It can’t be done because if you go out, people flock around you.”
Pope Francis tried to squeeze in at least an hour of adoration before his evening meal.
8 p.m.:
Around this time, the Pope headed back down to the Santa Marta dining room for a self-service meal. Even though Pope Francis wasn’t fussy about what he was given to eat, he did have a preference for meat over fish. He was particular about the temperature of his food as well and was known to pop a meal in the microwave if it was not hot enough.
Pope Francis also loved anything sweet. His Argentine friends often brought him alfajores—chocolate-covered cookies filled with dulce de leche. His favourite beverage was an Argentine tea called mate.
9 p.m.:
Pope Francis’s bedtime was around 9 p.m. every night. Once he’d settled in, he liked to read for an hour before nodding off. And how did the world’s holiest man sleep? By his admission, “like a log.”
Other than scripture and other religious texts, he was a fan of Dostoevsky and Gerard Manley Hopkins and had read The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni repeatedly.
One thing you wouldn’t catch him doing before bed, however, was watching TV. In 1990, he decided “it wasn’t for me” and promised the Virgin of Carmen that he wouldn’t ever watch it again.
