Pope Francis opts for a simpler funeral, embracing humility

• New funeral ritual: The funeral of Pope Francis will follow a simplified ritual described in the document from November of last year. The new guidelines are meant to highlight the pope’s role as a shepherd and disciple of Christ.
• Changes to the ceremony: Instead of three coffins, the pope's body will be placed in two: an oak and a zinc coffin. The wooden coffin is simple and modest, reflecting the new approach to the ceremony.
• Place of burial: Pope Francis expressed the wish to be buried in the Roman papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, which was noted in his will.

The new funeral guidelines, which replaced those from 1998, were introduced to emphasize the spiritual dimension of the ceremony. Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the papal master of ceremonies, explained that the ritual is intended to depict the pope as a shepherd and not a ruler. These changes take into account insights from the funerals of John Paul II and Benedict XVI and adapt to the current theological and ecclesiastical sensitivity.

The simplification of Pope Francis's funeral ritual stems from his directive for the ceremony to be more modest and in line with contemporary liturgical guidelines. In the new ritual, the third cypress coffin is omitted, which is a symbolic gesture of simplicity.

One of the changes is the simplification of the pope’s titles. It returns to the terminology used in the 2008 edition of the Roman Missal: pope, bishop of Rome, and shepherd. Additionally, the document includes guidelines for the potential burial of the pope in a different location than St. Peter’s Basilica.