The Body and Casket

• A member of the College of Cardinals, called the Camerlengo, serves as interim administrator until a new pope is chosen. The Camerlengo is responsible for the funeral preparations, carried out in accordance with tradition and the pope's wishes. He orders the body to be dressed in papal vestments for burial. These vestments include a red-and-gold chasuble and golden miter, symbols of authority reserved for the pope. The body is then placed in a simple wooden casket. In some cases, this casket is then placed inside a zinc or lead casket displaying the pope's name. Before burial, this will be placed inside a final wooden casket. Sealed documents describing the pope's life and works accompany the body to burial.
  
  

Funeral Rites

• The pope's body lies in state in the Basilica of St. Peter for nine days before burial. This period is known as the novendiales, from the Latin for "nine days." During this time, priests say Masses both in St. Peter's and in churches around the world. Vast numbers of mourners enter the basilica to view the body and pay their respects. During the funeral of Pope Paul VI, Vatican Radio estimated that more than 10,000 mourners passed through every hour.
  
  

Burial

• After the novendiales is complete and the funeral Mass celebrated, the body is returned to its caskets. The Sanpietrini, workers who maintain the basilica, transport the casket into the crypts beneath St. Peter's. There the pope is buried in a location he has chosen. The site is marked with a stone sarcophagus or memorial. A small area called a grotto surrounds the memorial. Pilgrims may visit the tomb and leave tributes such as flowers.
  
  

Variations

• Although the burial of the pope is surrounded by tradition, some variation exists. The Camerlengo attempts to ensure that burial is carried out in accordance with the pope's wishes. For instance, both Paul VI and John Paul II asked to be buried in "bare earth" rather than in elaborate above-ground stone sarcophagi, which had been the traditional method. They felt that the simplicity and humility of this form of burial was more appropriate than the ostentation of a sarcophagus.