On Wednesday, the Vatican made public new rules to simplify papal funerals, reflecting Pope Francis's yearslong commitment to shedding some of the Church's old rituals and papal pageantry. The changes include reducing the number of coffins in which the pope's body is laid to one from three, and allowing the pope to be buried in a church other than St. Peter's Basilica. This is a testament to Francis's embrace of a more down-to-earth, informal style.
Msgr. Diego Ravelli, the Vatican's master of pontifical liturgical ceremonies, indicated that the new ritual emphasizes even more the pastoral nature of the papal funeral, stating, 'The funeral of the Roman pontiff is that of a pastor and disciple of Christ, and not of a powerful person of this world.'
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