President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, will lead a five-member delegation to Vatican City to attend the burial of His Holiness, Pope Francis, on Saturday, April 26.

The delegation, which is at the behest of President Bola Tinubu, includes the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu; President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji; Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah; and Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, Archbishop Ignatius Ayua Kaigama.

Pope Francis, the revered head of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday, April 21, 2025, at 88, just a day after appearing for Easter Sunday celebrations at the Vatican.

The delegation will formally deliver a letter conveying President Tinubu’s sympathy and condolences on Pope Francis’ passing to the Acting Head of the Vatican.

On Monday, President Tinubu joined the Catholic faithful and Christians worldwide to mourn the death of Pope Francis, who he described as “a humble servant of God, a tireless champion of the poor, and a guiding light for millions.”

In the condolence message, President Tinubu remarked that Pope Francis’ death, coming just after the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, is a sacred return to his Maker at a time of renewed hope for Christians.

World leaders reportedly expected at the late Pope’s funeral are President Donald Trump of United States of America, British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer; Ukrainian President. Volodymyr Zelensky, Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin of Ireland; President of Poland, Andrzej Duda; Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and its prime minister, Luís Montenegro; Mexican Interior Minister, Rosa Icela Rodríguez; and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines.

The funeral Mass for Pope Francis will begin at 10:00am on Saturday, April 26, in St. Peter’s Square. It will be presided over by Cardinal Re and will conclude with the transfer of the coffin to Saint Mary Major, where the burial will hold.

According to the Vatican News, about 250 cardinals, a multitude of bishops, priests, religious brothers and sisters will attend the funeral Mass for the Holy Father Francis. The wooden and zinc coffin of the deceased Pontiff, sealed on Friday evening, will be placed on the forecourt of the Basilica, just in front of the altar.

It will face a vast crowd, expected to number several hundred thousand people, hailing from all geographical, social, political, and cultural backgrounds to pay their final respects. This diverse crowd represents the Church of Francis, the one that welcomes “everyone, everyone, everyone,” as he tirelessly repeated.

First Mass of the Novemdiales
As prescribed by the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, the funeral Mass is the first of nine Masses to be held daily at St. Peter’s through Sunday, May 4. The funeral liturgy will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals.

The patriarchs and cardinals will be distinguished from the bishops by the purple of their liturgical garments and their white damask miters, while the bishops will wear plain white miters.

The Mass will include readings from the Acts of the Apostles, the Letter of Saint Paul to the Pharisees, and the Gospel of John. The homily, prepared by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, will be followed by prayers of the faithful in French, Arabic, Portuguese, Polish, German, and Chinese, before the Eucharistic liturgy, Holy Communion, and the Rite of Final Commendation.

The celebration will be accompanied by the Choir of the Sistine Chapel, singing for Francis one last time.

Toward Saint Mary Major
In accordance with the spiritual testament of the Bishop of Rome, the coffin will then be transported to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. The funeral procession will cover a distance of about four kilometers through the streets of the capital at a slow pace.

This journey will allow Romans to bid farewell to their Bishop along a path he often took to pray before the icon of the Virgin Salus Populi Romani before and after each of his 47 apostolic journeys, and even recently after his hospital stays in February and March.

Upon arriving at the Liberian Basilica, still accompanied by the Sistine Chapel choir alternating antiphons and psalms, the coffin will be welcomed by “the last ones,” a group of poor and marginalised people who always had a special place in Pope Francis’ heart. They will be the ones to give the final tribute before the coffin is carried to the altar of Saint Mary Major. The burial will take place privately.

The Cardinal Camerlengo, Kevin Farrell, will mark the pontifical coffin with his seal, along with those of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, and the Liberian Chapter.

The remains of the Successor of Peter will be laid in the tomb and sprinkled with holy water. After the Regina Cæli prayer, the notary of the Liberian Chapter will draw up the official act confirming the burial and will read it aloud to those present. The act will be signed by the Camerlengo Cardinal, the Regent of the Papal Household, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations, and finally the notary. The ceremony is expected to end around 2:00pm.