John Paul II removed from grave in Vatican Grottos

The coffin of Pope John Paul II was removed from his grave in the Vatican Grottos on Friday as the city of Rome prepares for his Beatification on Sunday. The ceremony involved the reading of the Litany of the Saints as well as other prayers. Attending the ceremony were Cardinals Angelo Comastri, Tarcisio Bertone, Giovanni Lajolo, and Stanislao Dziwisz, as well as members of the Curia as well as members of the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps and Swiss Guards. The coffin will be placed in front of the Main altar in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, will it will be viewed by the faithful after the beatification. On Monday evening, after the Basilica is closed, the coffin will be moved to the chapel of Saint Sebastian, near the front of the church. The tombstone which covered John Paul II’s grave in the Vatican grottoes will later be sent to Krakow, where it will be housed in a church be dedicated to the new Blessed.