Just as hundreds of people had gathered at the Vatican each night to recite the rosary when Pope Francis was hospitalized, throngs returned to recite the Marian prayer for the repose of his soul after his death.

Pope Francis died April 21 after suffering a stroke and heart attack, said the director of Vatican City State’s department of health services. The pope had also gone into a coma.

Centuries of experience dealing with the death, or occasional resignation, of a pope has left the Catholic Church with thorough instructions detailing who has responsibility for planning the funeral, preparing for the election of a new pope and taking care of essential business in the meantime.

President Donald Trump, officials in his administration and other U.S. political leaders issued statements expressing condolences for Pope Francis after the pontiff’s death April 21 at age 88.

Pope Francis’ funeral rites, like those for any pope or any Christian, are meant to “reinforce the hope and witness to the faith” that those who have been baptized in Christ “will rise with him to new life.”

Pope Francis, who died April 21 at age 88, “will long be remembered for his outreach to those on the margins of the Church and of society,” Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement shared in the first hours after the pope’s death.

With the death of Pope Francis, the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, which was scheduled for April 27, has been postponed.

U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, the “camerlengo” or chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced to the world that Pope Francis had died April 21 at the age of 88.

Pope Francis, who died April 21 at the age of 88 gave new energy to millions of Catholics — and caused concern for some — as he transformed the image of the papacy into a pastoral ministry based on personal encounters and strong convictions about mission, poverty, immigration and dialogue.

The Glamuzinas are among the multitude of Americans planning to attend the canonization of the church’s first “millennial” saint. The canonization Mass, scheduled to be held in St. Peter’s Square, coincides with Divine Mercy Sunday and the 2025 Holy Year’s Jubilee of Teenagers April 25-27.