Here is an explanation of some of the terms and practices related to the time between the death of Pope Francis April 21 and the election of his successor.
Pope Francis
The funeral Mass of Pope Francis will be celebrated April 26 in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced.
With the death of Pope Francis, the April 27 canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis was postponed and the Mass scheduled for that day will be a memorial Mass, the Vatican said.
Pope Francis personally thanked the health care workers and medical staff who cared for him in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for 38 days while he recovered from respiratory infections.
The Vatican inaugurated a nursery school for children of Vatican employees April 14.
The Gospel contains a great message of hope, “because it tells us that wherever we are lost and however we are lost, God always comes looking for us!” said the text for Pope Francis’ weekly general audience.
Pope Francis is going without supplemental oxygen for longer periods and is continuing therapy to recover his voice and to recover his physical strength, the Vatican press office said, but he also is increasing the number of private meetings he is holding with the heads of Vatican offices.
Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of one woman and five men, including Antoni Gaudí, the Spanish architect who designed the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain.
Jesus loves people as they are, not based on their merit or righteousness, said the text for Pope Francis’ weekly general audience.
As Pope Francis continues his recovery at the Vatican, he is very slowly beginning to get back to his old routine of meeting with top Vatican officials, the Vatican press office said.