It’s been quite a year for Vatican City. The 2025 Jubilee has drawn pilgrims from around the globe, St. Peter’s has rolled out a new skip-the-line reservation system…and now, the passing of Pope Francis will set off a series of events that might impact your travels. If you’ll be in Rome in the next few weeks, you have a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in a global phenomenon. But also, you should anticipate large crowds and abnormal hours.
When a pope dies, the tiny, peaceful Vatican stirs from its timeless slumber and becomes headline news. Millions of people converge on Vatican City, and hundreds of millions around the world watch raptly on TV.
The body of Pope Francis is lying in state in front of the main altar at St. Peter’s Basilica, and it will remain there until his funeral on Saturday, April 26. Between now and then, hundreds of thousands will file through for one last look at their pope. To try and accommodate these crowds, St. Peter’s will open at 7 a.m. and close at midnight on Thursday, April 24 — and 7 p.m. on Friday, April 25. Vatican authorities have said they will shut down St. Peter’s Square before the basilica closes, but that those in line will be allowed to wait overnight so they don’t lose their place.
The pope’s funeral will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. local time and will be held outside, in St. Peter’s Square. His coffin will be carried out to the square, where a eulogy will be given. Most popes are then laid to rest in the crypt below St. Peter’s Basilica — however, Pope Francis requested to be buried at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore (near Rome’s Termini train station). This will also happen Saturday, after the funeral.
During this time, Rome’s tourism sights will remain open, and we don’t anticipate extraordinary crowds. (Jubilee crowds in general, which we originally cautioned might be huge, have thus far been fairly manageable.) The only exception to this will be Santa Maria Maggiore, which will likely see throngs of pilgrims and security personnel as the pope is laid to rest.
Vatican City will be a whole different story. Standard tourism visits to St. Peter’s and its dome are closed while mourners pay their respects to the pope’s body. (The basilica’s new timed-entry system will resume on Sunday, April 27.) The Vatican Museums will remain open until 8 p.m. on Friday, April 25, but will close on Saturday for the funeral. The museums will reopen on Monday, April 28 — apart from the Sistine Chapel, which will be closed to prepare for the conclave.
The conclave is one of the world’s most unique and particular electoral processes (one that was recently dramatized in the 2024 Oscar-winning thriller of the same name). While Pope Francis is being laid to rest, roughly 130 cardinals, representing Catholics around the globe, will descend on Rome to elect a new pope. Once they’ve assembled, the crimson-robed cardinals are stripped of their mobile phones, given a vow of secrecy, and locked inside the Sistine Chapel. This begins the conclave (from the Latin cum clave, meaning “with key”).
The conclave will begin on May 7. Most last a few days, but some can take weeks — it depends how quickly a consensus is reached. As the cardinals cast votes, their used paper ballots are burned in a stove inside the chapel. The smoke rises up and out the tiny chimney, visible to the crowds that will have assembled in St. Peter’s Square. Black smoke means they haven’t yet agreed on a new pope.
Finally, the anxious crowd will look up to see a puff of white smoke emerging from the chapel. The bells in St. Peter’s clock tower will ring out gloriously, the crowd will erupt, and Romans watching on TV will hail taxis to hurry to the square.
On the balcony outside St. Peter’s, the newly elected pope will step up and raise his hands as thousands chant “Viva il Papa!” A cardinal will introduce him to the crowd, announcing his newly chosen name. “Brothers and sisters,” the cardinal will say in several languages, “habemus papam…we have a pope.”
Update: This article was updated on April 28.
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Do you know if the St. Peters Basilica Holy door will be open during the time they are preparing the Basilica and Sistine Chapel? I have a Jubilee reservation for May 3rd to go through the Holy Door. I will not be able to go to into Basilica as they have to get it ready.
Blessings
Hi Catherine, Travis here. If the Basilica has informed you that you will not be able to enter, then it is likely you will not be able to go through the Holy Door either. However, it’s best to check directly: We recommend reaching out to the dicastery, at pilgrims@iubilaeum2025.va. Enjoy your trip — it’s a special time to be visiting Rome!
Great information! I have tickets for a tour of St. Peter’s and the grottoes, then the Sistine Chapel on May 12. If they are closed, do you know if I would I get a refund?
Hi Melissa, Travis here. These questions are best directed toward the Vatican and Vatican Museums, as the answers will likely depend on when the conclave ends. (We don’t want to give speculative information.) But it sounds like there’s a chance you’ll be there when white smoke appears!