Hello
I will be in Rome the second week of March. I am not Catholic, but hearing the Pope is sick is sad news.
If the Pope dies, how will it effect my trip? Will places close or will the city suddenly become flooded with people?
I do not mean to sound selfish or uncaring, but I have a Vatican tour scheduled on March the 12th.
Thank you in advance.
Todd
If you mean you have a tour of the Vatican Museums, you should be fine. If it’s a tour of the gardens or inside the Vatican itself, I I would say you may have some changes in the tour, at this point.
Hi Todd
I am sort of in the state as you are. I am praying the Pope pulls through this but I am also planning on going to Rome tomorrow and be there the next five days. I have tours planed for St Peter's Tomb Thursday and a Vatican tour on Friday.
From what I have read when a Pope dies they will have a funeral in St Peter's Square four to six days after passing.
After a certain period of mourning all the bishops will vote for a new Pope. The voting takes place inside the Sistine Chapel. I'm guessing they will close both or limit access to both the Basilica and Museum during this time. But that is just a guess on my part.
I'll see in a couple days.
This is probably helpful too:
The Pope Francis will be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore so visitation to that basilica during the entombment process would be affected as well. This is interesting:
https://apnews.com/article/pope-funeral-rites-francis-vatican-d8b24d48b743e4b6b11f565196741504
Thanks Kathy, you beat me it to it. And please note, I found that museum tours were cancelled for the full month of March in 2013. But who knows what they will do this time if something happens.
Watch the current film, "The Conclave", with Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini, and you'll have a picture of what goes on inside the Vatican when this happens. It's up for Best Picture at the Oscars.
It's not IF but WHEN (like everybody else).
Another vote for THE CONCLAVE! Especially at current time.
