Novemdiales Mass, presided by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti in St. Peter's Basilica on April 29. Photo credit: CatholicVote (McKenna Snow)
VATICAN CITY // The traditional nine-day period of mourning for the death of a pope continues in solemn prayer this week as a different cardinal each day presides over a special Mass praying for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis.
The ancient tradition called Novemdiales began on the day of the pope’s funeral, the Vatican Office of Liturgical Celebrations states. The office released the full schedule for when, where, and by whom each of these Masses will be celebrated at the Vatican.
Today, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over the April 29 Mass, the fourth day of mourning. The Mass was celebrated at 5 p.m. local time in the Chapters of the Papal Basilicas and was open to the public. The only two Novemdiales Masses not open to the public are on April 30 and May 4, because they will be celebrated in the Papal Chapel in the Vatican Basilica.
Specific groups connected with the late pontiff are set to participate at each of the Masses, the office states.
“This variety of assemblies shows, in a certain way, both the scope of the ministry of the Supreme Pastor and the universality of the Church of Rome,” the office added, referencing the most recent edition of the “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis,” a liturgical book on the funeral for the pope, which was most recently revised by Pope Francis in 2024.
Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals Cardinal Leonardo Sandri will preside over the Mass in the Vatican Basilica for the Papal Chapel on April 30th at 5 p.m. local time for the fifth day of mourning.
Cardinal Victor Fernández will preside over the Mass for the sixth day of mourning at 5 p.m. local time in the Vatican Basilica for the Roman Curia. The former prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, will preside over the Mass for the seventh day, at 5 p.m. local time at the Vatican Basilica for the Eastern Churches.
Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime will preside over the Mass for the eighth day on May 3 in the Vatican Basilica. This Mass will be celebrated especially with members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life present. Cardinal Artime is the former pro-prefect of the Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life.
The Novemdiales will conclude Sunday, May 4. Protodeacon of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, will preside over this Mass privately in the Vatican Basilica with the other cardinals.
Pope Francis’ funeral Mass, which was celebrated April 26 in St. Peter’s Square, marked the first of the nine Masses. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, presided.
The following day on Divine Mercy Sunday, former Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrated the second Mass, which was attended by tens of thousands of teenagers who filled St. Peter’s Square and the main connecting street. The Mass, held at 10:30 a.m., was originally set to be a part of the celebration of the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis on the Jubilee of Teenagers. Instead, it became the second Mass for mourning the death of Pope Francis, and, while the Jubilee still took place, the canonization had to be postponed.
On April 28 Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, presided over the third Mass in the Vatican Basilica, as CatholicVote previously reported. In his homily, he reflected on how Rome is “a people mourning its bishop, a people together with other peoples who have lined up, finding a space among the places of the city to mourn and pray, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Later on, Cardinal Reina spoke about how “Jesus, the true shepherd of history who needs his salvation, knows the weight that weighs on each of us in continuing his mission, especially as we find ourselves looking for the first of his shepherds on earth.”