Pope John Paul II’s funeral will be held Friday morning, and his remains will be interred in the grotto of St. Peter’s Basilica where pontiffs throughout the ages have been laid to rest, the Vatican said Monday. Chief spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls made the announcement after the College of Cardinals held two meetings over the course of 2 1/2 hours in its first gatherings since the pope’s death and ahead of a secret vote later this month to elect a successor to John Paul.To View a complte Picture gallery since last saturday for the pope pls click “Read More”
The body of Pope John Paul II lies in state in the Clementina hall
at the Vatican April 3, 2005. The world mourned the late Pope on
Sunday and thousands of grieving pilgrims converged on Rome to
pay homage to the Pole who helped topple Communism in Europe
but left a divided Roman Catholic Church. (Pool/Reuters)
This graphic lists Roman Catholic cardinals seen as possible candidates
to succeed Pope John Paul II,whose death was announced by the Vatican
on Saturday. Speculation about the next leader of the world’s 1.1 billion
Roman Catholics is notoriously unpredictable and John Paul himself was
a rank outsider whose election surprised the world. (Reuters Graphic)
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Faithfuls gather Saint Peter’s Square for a solemn mass led by Italian
Cardinal Angelo Sodano to pay respect to the death of Pope John Paul II
at the Vatican April 3, 2005. Pope John Paul II, whose 26-year papacy
helped defeat Communism in Europe but left a Roman Catholic Church
divided over his uncompromising orthodoxy, died on Saturday after a
prolonged struggle with ill health. REUTERS/Tony Gentile
A Christian nun prays in the grotto at the Church of the Nativity,
believed to be the birth place of Jesus Christ, in Bethlehem
Sunday, April 3, 2005. Pope John Paul II died at 84, the Vatican
announced Saturday. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Faithful hold up their arms and sing in St. Peter’s Square at the
Vatican, Sunday, April 3, 2005. The Vatican announced that
John Paul died at 21:37 local time Saturday, April 2, after a long
struggle against debilitating illness. He was 84. (AP Photo/G. Borgia)
A child kisses a photo of Pope John Paul II after a Mass for the repose
of the Pope, celebrated in the church of Santa Maria alla Carita’ in Naples,
Italy, Sunday, April 3, 2005. The Vatican announced that John Paul
died at 21:37 local time Saturday, April 2, after a long struggle against
debilitating illness. He was 84. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Faithfuls sing in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican after a Mass for
the repose of Pope John Paul II’s soul was celebrated on the steps
of St. Peter’s Basilica by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo
Sodano, Sunday, April 3, 2005, The Vatican announced that John Paul
died at 21:37 local time Saturday, April 2, after a long struggle against
debilitating illness. He was 84. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Priests pray before distributing holy communion during a mass for
Pope John Paul II at the church in Krakow-Lagiewniki, Poland,
Sunday, April 3, 2005. The Pope died at the Vatican on Saturday
evening, April 2. ( AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Poles kneel down to pray in front of the bishop’s residence in Krakow,
southern Poland, Sunday, April 3, 2005, the day after the death of
Pope John Paul II was announced in the Vatican. Pope John Paul II
served here as a priest and bishop. (AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski)
Catholics pray during a mass led by Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah
for the late Pope John Paul II at the Basilica of Annunciation in Nazareth,
northern Israel, Sunday April 3 , 2005. Pope John Paul II, the Polish pontiff
who led the Roman Catholic Church for more than a quarter century and
became history’s most-traveled pope, died Saturday night, April 2, 2005
in his Vatican apartment. He was 84. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A young Kosovar Albanian Catholic prays
during a Sunday mass for Pope John Paul II
in the St. Anthony’s Catholic church of Pristina,
Kosovo, Sunday, April 3, 2005. Catholics mourned
the passing of Pope John Paul II, who died at his
residence in the Vatican on Saturday.
(AP Photo/ Visar Kryeziu)
A worshipper prays along with others during mass in Stcokholm’s
St.Eugenia Catholic Cathedral Sunday April 3, 2005, for the late
Pope John Paul II. The pope died Saturday at the Vatican.
(AP Photo/Pressens Bild/Fredrik Persson)
Kosovar Albanian Catholics pray during a Sunday mass
for the Pope John Paul II in the St. Anthony’s Catholic
church of Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday April 3, 2005. Catholics
mourned the passing of Pope John Paul II, who died at his
residence in the Vatican on Saturday. (AP Photo/ Visar Kryeziu)
A woman touches a crucifix as she prays for the late Pope John Paul II
at the Holy Shrine in Knock, Republic of Ireland, Sunday, April, 3, 2005.
Pope John Paul II died in his Vatican apartment Saturday, April 2, 2005.
He was 84. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
A woman prays for the late Pope John Paul II at the Holy Shrine in
Knock, Republic of Ireland, Sunday, April 3, 2005. Pope John Paul II
died in his Vatican apartment Saturday, April 2, 2005. He was 84.
(AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
A worshipper lights a candle as Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor,
head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, celebrates a
requiem mass for the late Pope John Paul II in Westminster Cathedral,
London, Sunday, April 3, 2005, one day after the Pope died at the Vatican.
(AP Photo/John D McHugh)
A Polish nun, right, prays on her knees during a mass in commemoration
of Pope John Paul II in the Polish St. Stanislaw church in Rome, Sunday,
April 3, 2005. The Vatican announced that John Paul died at 21:37 local
time Saturday, April 2, after a long struggle against debilitating illness.
He was 84. (AP Photo/Jasper Juinen)
A Catholic Arab worshipper holds up a copy of the
New Testament on arabic during a mass led by Latin
Patriarch Michel Sabbah for the late Pope John Paul II
at the Basilica of Annunciation in Nazareth, northern
Israel, Sunday April 3 , 2005. Pope John Paul II, the
Polish pontiff who led the Roman Catholic Church for
more than a quarter century and became history’s
most-traveled pope, died Saturday night, April 2, 2005
in his Vatican apartment. He was 84.
(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Parishioners pray during early Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral,
Sunday, April 3, 2005 in New York. Pope John Paul II died Saturday
in his Vatican apartment, ending a long public struggle against
debilitating illness. He was 84. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
A Polish boy prays amid other Polish children during a mass in
commemoration of Pope John Paul II in the Polish St. Stanislaw
church in Rome, Sunday, April 3, 2005. The Vatican announced
that John Paul died at 21:37 local time Saturday, April 2, after a
long struggle against debilitating illness. He was 84.
(AP Photo/Jasper Juinen)
A Palestinian Catholic girl lights a candle for the late Pope John Paul II
at the Holy Family Church in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Sunday
April 3, 2005. Pope John Paul II, died in his Vatican apartment Saturday,
April 2, 2005. He was 84. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Faithfuls write condolence messages on a Polish flag adorned with
photos and votive candles, as thousands of people crowded St. Peter’s
Square at the Vatican to attend a Mass for the repose of Pope John Paul II’s
soul celebrated on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica by the Vatican secretary
of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Sunday, April 3, 2005, The Vatican
announced that John Paul died at 21:37 local time Saturday, April 2,
after a long struggle against debilitating illness. He was 84.
(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
FILE PHOTOS:
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File photo showing Pope John Paul II (C) lies bleeding in his open
car moments after he was shot by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca
in St. Peter’s Square, on May 13, 1981. Pope John Paul II, the Pole
who headed the Roman Catholic Church for 26 years and played a
key role in the fall of communism in Europe, died on Saturday evening,
the Vatican announced. He was 84. (Vatican/Reuters)
Pope John Paul II talks with his would-be assassin
Mehmet Ali Agca during a private meeting in Agca’s
prison cell in Rome in this undated picture. Agca, the
Turkish gunman who seriously wounded the pope during
a 1981 assassination attempt, is mourning the pope’s
death from his Turkish prison cell, his brother said Sunday,
April 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Vatican, Arturo Mari)
Pope John Paul II sits between Israel’s Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau,
left, and Muslim Sheikh Taysir Tamimi, member of the Islamic Higher
Committee and Deputy Supreme Justice, at an Interfaith gathering at
Notre Dame Roman Catholic Institution in Jerusalem in this March 23,
2000 file photo. Pope John Paul II died at the Vatican on Saturday.
(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley
