Tunde Sulaiman with Agency Report 
The coffin of Pope Francis is to be sealed this evening by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, who will preside at the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin of the late Pontiff, ahead of the papal funeral on Saturday morning.
The liturgical rite will be attended by several Cardinals and Holy See officials. It will mark the end of public viewing in St. Peter’s Basilica, which has seen tens of thousands of people paying their respects to the late Pope.
As his mortal remains lie in state, over 50,000 people have filed past the Altar of the Confession in the 24 hours since the Vatican Basilica opened to the faithful on Wednesday morning
. The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations requested the presence at the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin today of Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re, Pietro Parolin, Roger Mahony, Domenique Mamberti, Mauro Gambetti, Baldassare Reina, and Konrad Krajewski.
Those assisting the rite will also include Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari, Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, the Canons of the Vatican Chapter, the Ordinary Minor Penitentiaries of the Vatican, the late Pope’s secretaries, and others admitted by the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, Archbishop Diego Ravelli.
Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will take place tomorrow, at 10a.m.(9 Nig. time) in St. Peter’s Square, marking the beginning of the Novemdiales, an ancient tradition of nine days of mourning and Masses for the repose of the late Pope’s soul. The Novemdiales Masses will be held each day at 5p.m. (GMT +2) in St. Peter’s Basilica, except for the Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, which will take place at 10:30a.m. in St. Peter’s Square.
Meanwhile a number of world leaders and royalty will be attending the funeral. Some of those expected in the Italian capital include: US President Donald Trump and his wife, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, France’s Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Prince of Wales, Prince William, Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Some others include Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, along with Prime Minister Bart De Wever, Germany’s President FrankWalter Steinmeier and outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia. Also attending is UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres.
