Latest update on the timeline at the Vatican and how they will effect access to St. Peters Basilica, and The Sistine Chapel.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 23rd at a time TBD, The Pope's body/coffin, will be moved from the Papal Casa Santa Marta, to St. Peter's Basilica, he will be viewable to the public for 3 days in St. Peter's Basilica.
On Saturday, the Papal Funeral will take place in Piazza San Pietro, and his coffin will be brought out of the Basilica and into the piazza. Funeral begins at 10am on Saturday morning.
Pope Francis will not be buried in the Vatican, he is the first pope in a century who requested not to be buried in The Vatican. He will be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the Vatican's 4 churchs in Rome. There are 7 past popes that have also been buried in Santa Maria Maggiore.
There are some specific rules that are followed when a pope passes away. A nine-day mourning period starts following the official confirmation of the pope's death, and his funeral takes place between the fourth and sixth day.
The Conclave to elect the new pope is expected to start after the mourning period, 15-20 days after the pope's death.
The Vatican Museums and St Peter's Basilica will be closed to visitors at certain points during the mourning period. The Sistine Chapel will be closed before the Conclave starts so that preparations can be made, but the Vatican Museums otherwise remain open during Conclave. It is expected that The Sistine Chapel will close to the public approx 1 week before the beginning of Conclave to prepare it for the College of Cardinals.
If you are traveling to see the Vatican City in the upcoming weeks and are wondering if your trip will be impacted, the answer is yes, possibly. Information about unexpected closures or changes to tickets or Jubilee events will be provided by the Vatican as soon as they have made any decisions, so we will all have to wait and see what happens.
Based on my professional experience during the last Conclave when Pope Francis was elected, it is a very special time to be in Rome. Outside of the Vatican, no other sights will be affected, and there is a unique atmosphere in the city, so don't let the potential uncertainty put you off!
How long will Conclave last?
It will depend on the voting process, but on average in can take 2-3 weeks. During which The Sistine Chapel will be completely closed to the public, and at unknown times St. Peter's Basilica can also be found to be closed off, due to Mass of Cardinals, and so forth at Vatican's behest.
Timing of Conclave is unknown at this time, I'd expect it to start no later than 2nd week of May, and assume Conclave to run through Mid-Late May.
Clients who are affected by these events, will be contacted directly and made aware of how we are to proceed with private tours. Though we expect The Vatican Museums to be open throughout, and so we should still have our guides conduct private Vatican Museums Tours.
While we understand there may be dissapointment in being unable to view The Sistine Chapel, and or inside St. Peter's Basilica, our tours include a combo access private guided tour ticket when doing The Vatican Museums that allow those clients with private guides to access The Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's as part of the experience at no additional costs.
While we await word from The Vatican on private access tour tickets, operating the tour of The Vatican Museums without these two experiences may or may not qualify for a partial refund. We will advise when we know more.
Rest in Peace to Pope Francis, God Bless.
