papal apartments

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Sealing of the Papal Apartments after the Passing of Pope Francis

The private residence of the Pope in the Vatican City, that is his apartment in the Apostolic Palace beside the Basilica of St. Peter is left vacant upon the death of the Pope as Pope Francis, the 266th Pope has just passed away on Monday, 21 April 2025.

Therefore, in order to avoid fraud and manipulation of papal documents of the previous Pope, and to prevent release of items that can only be done by the new Pope, the Pope’s Apartment is sealed, by a special officer of the Roman Curia, that is the Camerlengo (Chamberlain) of the Holy Roman Church, who is now Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is also the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.

The Camerlengo is the leader of the sede vacante transition period, and working in conjunction with the Dean of the College of Cardinals. His duties include sealing the Pope’s apartment and the destruction of the Pope’s Ring of the Fisherman, both of which meant to ensure no fraud documents can be released in absence of the Pope.

The sealing is done as soon as the Pope passed away or stepped down, and done in the presence of the Vice-Camerlengo, who is now Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari, and sealed with a silk string tied and sealed with a wax seal to ensure no one can enter the room, with the unbroken wax seal as evidence.

The room will only be opened again and the seal broken after the conclave is completed and a new Pope is elected.

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Papal Visit to Parish of St. Anne, Rome, and Pope Francis’ First Angelus

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Pope Francis visited his first parish in the Diocese of Rome today, Sunday morning, 17 March 2013 and celebrated Mass there (there are more than 300 parishes in the Diocese of Rome).

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At noon, he returned to the Papal Apartments at the Vatican to deliver his very first Sunday Angelus to thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

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Sede Vacante : Which offices are suspended, which ones has important roles and which remains in place during the sede vacante

http://www.gcatholic.org/events/sede-vacante.htm

A superb collection and data collated by GCatholic site, on the list of all offices that are suspended during the Sede Vacante period (that is between the vacancy of the Apostolic See by the death or resignation of the previous Pope, and the election of a new Pope).

The suspended offices are mainly the prefects of the Congregations of the Roman Curia (example : Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), presidents of the Pontifical Councils (example : Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace), and many other members and offices of the Roman Curia. The new Pope will be able to either confirm them to continue in their respective offices, or choose to replace them with his own preferred candidates.

The offices that continue to be exercised during the Sede Vacante, include the offices that has important roles in the Sede Vacante period and the Conclave, such as the Camerlengo, the Vice-Camerlengo (who seals the papal apartments and destroy the Ring of the Fisherman), several other officers of the Roman Curia, head of the Papal Household (currently Archbishop Georg Ganswein), all the Apostolic Nuncios, Apostolic Delegates, and other diplomatic representatives of the Holy See, whose diplomatic authority remains even during the Sede Vacante.

Amongst the Cardinals themselves and some other officials, there are special duties that they are supposed to carry out during the Conclave, which includes the Cardinal-electors by their order (Bishop, priest, or deacon), in the running of the Conclave, the Papal Master of Ceremonies (currently Monsignor Guido Marini), who is the one stating the ‘extra omnes’ order officially beginning the lockdown of the Conclave, and other offices.

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A beautiful, artistic representation of the Sede Vacante with coat-of-arms of the Cardinal Camerlengo, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone

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The Umbrella above the keys (silver and gold) in the place of the usual papal tiara is the symbol of the sede vacante, to represent that the Papacy, the position of the Bishop of Rome is vacant. A more complete version of the symbol is with the coat-of-arms of the Cardinal Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, who is currently the Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Italy.

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The Cardinal Camerlengo is in charge of the events and governance of the Holy See, and also of the conclave during the sede vacante, until the new Pope is elected. He is also the one entrusted to seal the previous Pope’s private apartments and the destruction of the Ring of the Fisherman.

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