After the death of Pope Francis, occurred on Monday, April 21, the authorities in the Vatican City They spread images of the Pontiff in his coffin while he was in the chapel of his residence, the Santa Marta house. The Holy Father, born in Argentina, lived in that place during the more than 12 years of pontificate.
In the photographs you can see Pope Francis dressed in a red attire, while receiving the blessing of Cardinal Camarlengo, the Irish Kevin Joseph Farrell, who at that time did A special rite in which the death of the Supreme Pontiff officially declares before the Roman Catholic Church and all its faithful in the world.
Currently, the Pope’s coffin is in the San Pedro Basilica In order for the international public to pay tribute until the day of its funeral, next Saturday, April 26, considering that the Pontiff asked to be buried in the sanctuary of Santa María la Mayor, “Where he always stopped to pray at the beginning of each trip.”
Faced with this situation, dozens of people began to speculate on the color of Francisco’s clothing. However, it was subsequently explained that it was not a particular decision for the funeral of the native of Buenos Aires, since the Vatican traditionally wears all the died potatoes for more than a hundred years.
The reason for dressing red to the Pope for funeral
According to the Italian magazine Liturgical Arts Journalthe Vatican wears the Pope with ornaments Red For its funeral, since that color symbolizes the passion and the blood of Christ within the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, the death of the Supreme Pontiff represents that “spilled to his own blood” (USque ad Sanguinis effusionemin Latin).
“The Vatican usually performs a public worship ritual that serves as a community response to the sacred, and in this case, it was the death of Pope Francis. For that same reason, in addition to the funerals, the pontiffs also wear red during the Good Friday And Ramos Sunday, “added the specialized magazine in liturgy.
It is worth mentioning that the exact origin of the tradition of clothing is currently unknown to Funeral honorsalthough, according to various officials in the city of the Vatican, there are records of this practice from the death of the Benedict XV, occurred on January 21, 1922, more than 103 years ago.
“Red is also directly associated with Apostles —The disciples chosen by Jesus – and with the feast of the saints Pedro and Pablosince the pontiff assumes the role of the first of the apostles throughout his pontificate, “he adds Liturgical Arts Journaland therefore it is speculated that this link with this color could be even older.
In turn, the head of the Episcopal Conference in Spain, Ramón Navarrohe explained that, according to the tradition of the Catholic Church, in the burial of all the potatoes “the deceased must use a red clothing as a sign of the martyrdom —Merte, torment or torture for a specific religion – that symbolizes to give life for Christ”
“Red, since the first centuries of the Christian era, has always been the color associated with the death o The funerals in the Vatican, since Rome is the city of the martyrs. For that reason, Cardinals They also wear red, because they are called to completely deliver their life for love to Jesus“Navarro explained during an interview.
🇻🇦🕊️✝️🙏The Vatican spreads the first images of Pope Francis in his coffin, which is made of red velvet wood and the #Papafrancisco In his hands he carries a rosary.- #RIP #Papafrancesco #conclave #Videos
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– Setting Press Agenda (@agensetting1) April 22, 2025