Vatican announces burial plans
VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- Pope John Paul II will be buried in the grave once occupied by Pope John XXIII, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Tuesday.
John XXIII's body was exhumed from the grotto beneath St. Peter's Basilica and entombed on the main floor in 2001. His papacy was from 1958 until his death in 1963.
The cardinals met Tuesday morning for their third congregation since the death of John Paul II, but Navarro-Valls said they had not decided yet when the conclave to select the next pope would begin.
By Vatican law, it must begin no earlier than 15 days and no later than 20 days after the pope's death on Saturday.
Navarro-Valls said the pope would be buried in the St. Peter's crypts "unless he left other instructions in the will."
"But we don't know because we haven't read the will yet," he said.
In other statements, he has said that the pontiff left no indication elsewhere that he wanted to be buried in some place other than the Vatican.
Archbishop Pietro Marini said the pope had indicated he wanted to buried in the ground.
Marini noted some changes in apostolic law concerning the conclave, most notably that the voting cardinals -- all those under 80 -- won't be locked in the Sistine Chapel until they've made a decision as they have in the past.
"But they cannot have contact with other people," he said. "They cannot watch television or listen to radio."
Marini said that the pontiff's body would be placed in a wooden coffin -- the first of three that would entomb him -- which would be closed before it is carried out into St. Peter's Square for Friday's funeral.
Before the closure, he said, a white veil would be placed over John Paul's face and a special prayer said.
Asked if the pope had been embalmed, Navarro-Valls said the body had been "prepared for burial" but had not been embalmed.
Mourners view body
Tens of thousands of mourners waited up to five hours to file past the body of Pope John Paul II on Tuesday as the pontiff's remains lay in state.
On Monday, a solemn procession of cardinals led the pope's body from the Vatican's Apostolic Palace through St. Peter's Square to the basilica.
Italian authorities said they expect some 2 million people to file through the Vatican and the surrounding streets of Rome in the coming days.
The body will lie in state until a funeral at 10 a.m. (4 a.m. ET) Friday.
The 84-year-old pontiff died Saturday from septic shock and cardiocirculatory collapse, the Vatican said. He suffered from a number of chronic illnesses, including Parkinson's disease.
The pope was born Karol Wojtyla in 1920 in Poland. He became pope in October 1978, the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years.
Other developments
- Prince Charles' office said his wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles has been moved to Saturday so he can attend the the pontiff's funeral.
- Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot the pope in 1981, wants to attend the funeral. Agca is serving time in a Turkish prison for unrelated crimes. "We are starting the legal procedure to attend," Agca's attorney, Mustafa Demirbag, said. "He expressed to me over and over that he's very sorry for the death of the pope." Agca spent nearly 20 years in an Italian prison for the assassination attempt. The pope met with Agca in 1983 and offered forgiveness, and the would-be assassin calls the pontiff his "spiritual brother."
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