As the public viewing of Pope Francis’s body began, mourners were interrupted by visitors who turned the occasion into a ghoulish photo-op. Some Instagrammers even smiled as they posed in front of the open casket. “People were being asked to put their selfie sticks away when they got to the front,” UK tourist Martin Gilsenan told the Mirror.
“There were also many people looking around and getting upset with those on the phones,” he said, with images showing others crowding around taking pics, despite being told not to..
“I found the mobile phones very distasteful,” added Gilsenan’s wife, Catherine. “I was very surprised there were photos.”
The casket was not put on an elevated bier as it was his request to not make it difficult for the people to pay their last respect to him.
Until the funeral on Saturday, his body, dressed in papal vestments, will lie in state at St Peter’s Basilica.
The funeral will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Eastern) in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced. A public funeral Mass will be held in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.
The funeral will be more modest than rites for past pontiffs: Francis last year simplified the rules around papal funerals, with changes that include using only one wooden coffin instead of three.
After the Mass, Francis’ body will be interred in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where seven other popes are buried.
Francis wrote in his will that he wanted his “last earthly journey to end at this very ancient Marian shrine.” He requested a simple, undecorated tomb with only the inscription “Franciscus,” the Vatican said.
World leaders and Catholic worshippers from around the world will attend the funeral. Expected attendees include: President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, President Javier Milei of Argentina and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, the world’s largest Catholic country.

A picture of Bashar al-Assad, damaged by bullets.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The British government said Thursday it was lifting sanctions against a dozen Syrian entities, including government departments and media outlets, to help the country rebuild after President Bashar Assad was toppled from power in a lightning rebel offensive in December.

The U.K. had put the sanctions in place against those who supported Assad’s repressive rule, helped violently suppress civilians and spread misinformation.

“The Syrian people deserve the opportunity to rebuild their country and economy, and a stable Syria is in the U.K.’s national interest,” Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East, said in a statement explaining the purpose of lifting the sanctions.

Syria’s new leaders have struggled to begin rebuilding the country’s decimated economy and infrastructure after nearly 14 years of civil war. The new authorities in Damascus have made a push for harsh sanctions imposed by western countries on Assad’s government to be lifted, with limited success.

Financial sanctions and asset freezes were lifted on several government agencies, including the ministries of interior and defense, the Foreign Office said.

Sanctions were also dropped against the General Organization of Radio and TV, a state-run agency that allegedly spread propaganda for Assad and incited violence against civilians. The Foreign Office said it also lifted sanctions against Al Watan, a newspaper, Cham Press TV, and Sama TV, for spreading misinformation.

Sanctions imposed against Assad and associates remain in place and legislation was amended to allow the former leader and others to be held accountable for atrocities committed against Syrians.

In March, the U.K. dropped sanctions against two dozen Syrian businesses, mostly banks and oil companies.

The Trump administration in the U.S. has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, an Islamist former insurgent who led the offensive that ousted Assad. The militant group al-Sharaa led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, remains a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, and the sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad remain in place.

However, Washington has eased some restrictions. The U.S. Treasury in January issued a general license, lasting six months, that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.

The European Union, meanwhile, has begun to ease some energy and transport sanctions and banking restrictions against Syria, suspending measures targeting oil, gas and electricity as well as transport, including the aviation sector.