Indian police say at least 20 tourists were killed in Kashmir 8:39 AM (25 minutes ago)
Indian police say gunmen have killed at least 20 tourists at a resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Two senior police officers said at least four gunmen, whom they described as militants, fired at dozens of tourists from close range Tuesday. The officers said at least three dozen others were injured, many in serious condition. They spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy.
Officials collected at least 20 bodies in Baisaran meadow, some 3 miles from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam.
Police described the incident as a “terror attack” and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule. It appeared to be a major shift in the regional conflict in which tourists have largely been spared.
“This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, wrote on social media.
Police were searching for the attackers. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
India’s home minister, Amit Shah, was heading to Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on an official visit in Saudi Arabia, has been briefed.
“We will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences,” Shah wrote on social media.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a key Kashmiri resistance leader, condemned what he described as a “cowardly attack on tourists,” writing on socila media that “such violence is unacceptable and against the ethos of Kashmir which welcomes visitors with love and warmth.”
The attack coincided with the visit to India of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who is on a largely personal four-day stop. “Over the past few days, we have been overcome with the beauty of this country and its people. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they mourn this horrific attack,” Vance said on social media.
The meadow in Pahalgam is a popular sightseeing destination, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.
Kashmir has seen a spate of targeted killings of Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, after New Delhi ended the region’s semi-autonomy in 2019 and drastically curbed dissent, civil liberties and media freedoms.
Tensions have been simmering as India has intensified its counterinsurgency operations.
The region, known for rolling Himalayan foothills, exquisitely decorated houseboats and pristine meadows, has become a major domestic tourist destination. Kashmir has drawn millions of visitors who enjoy a strange peace kept by ubiquitous security checkpoints, armored vehicles and patrolling soldiers.
Although violence has ebbed in recent times in the Kashmir Valley, the heart of anti-India rebellion, fighting between government forces and rebels has largely shifted to remote areas of Jammu region including Rajouri, Poonch and Kathua, where Indian troops have faced deadly attacks.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
Winds up to 60 mph and showers expected Tuesday 8:04 AM (last hour)
National Weather Service officials are expecting widespread showers and thunderstorms to hit the Chicago area by Tuesday night with winds up to 60 mph.
Officials said a cold front was expected to bring widespread thunderstorms Tuesday in portions of north central and northeast Illinois, and northwest Indiana.
The storm system was expected to blow into the area Tuesday evening into the night hours, officials said.
The system has the potential to generate gusty winds, especially across western Illinois.
Current midmorning conditions at O’Hare International Airport is mostly cloudy at 57 degrees. Farther south at Midway Airport conditions are the same at 56 degrees.
There is a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms later Tuesday.
Pope Francis mourned among Naperville’s Catholic community 7:32 AM (last hour)
By noon Monday, black and purple bunting hung across the brick front of St. Raphael Catholic Church. Inside the Naperville parish, a framed portrait of Pope Francis stood in the vestibule.
Beneath it sat a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums and a single lit candle.
Francis died Monday at his Vatican City residence, one day after he delivered an Easter Sunday blessing to thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square. He was 88.
After the Vatican announced the pontiff’s death, which it said was caused by a stroke that put Francis in a coma and led to heart failure, the news reverberated across the Chicago area, Naperville included.
At St. Raphael’s off Modaff Road, Deacon Leonard Penkala prepared the church for mourning. He put up bunting and a small memorial. Inside parish offices, which were closed in observance of Easter Monday, an “in memoriam” message for the pope flashed across television screens.
“We just want to recognize that as a church, we go through a mourning (period),” said Penkala, who is also the director of liturgy for St. Raphael’s.
The death of a pope begins a precise sequence of events that include the confirmation of death in the pontiff’s home, the transfer of the coffin to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City for public viewing, a funeral Mass and burial. Interment must take place between the fourth and sixth day after his death.
After the funeral, there are nine days of official mourning, known as the “novendiali.” The Vatican announced that Francis’ funeral will be held Saturday.
Penkala said it was a “complete shock” to hear of the pope’s passing, especially after Easter Sunday and the days preceding the holiday, known as Holy Week.
“To expect it to happen on this particular day obviously takes everybody by surprise,” he said.
The first thing Penkala did after he learned Francis died was say a prayer and “deal with the loss personally.” The second, he said, was ask himself, “What does the church require of me to serve today?” Speaking to the former, Penkala said, “I think it’s the same thing that every family faces when they lose a loved one. You have to go through your own grieving but at the same time, you have to meet with the funeral parlor. You have to go meet with the church.”
Penkala said Francis “will be looked upon well in history.”
Argentine-born, Francis became the first Latin American pope when he was elected in 2013 following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. He was also the first to name himself after St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th century friar known for personal simplicity, a message of peace and care for society’s outcasts.
“He was a champion of the poor,” Penkala said. “He was a champion of the underprivileged. He was a champion of those who … have had very little voice in the church.”
Francis’ tenure included approving church blessings for same-sex couples and adding women to important decision-making roles in the Vatican. His papacy, though, also drew criticism from conservative-leaning Catholics who took issue with his progressive bent.
A parishioner at St. Raphael’s Monday, who asked that her name not be used, said she thinks the pope will be remembered for his kindness and gentleness.
“He was a very gentle man, very holy,” she said. “And he always looked out for the downtrodden.”
At Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in downtown Naperville — the oldest established parish in DuPage County — a portrait of the pope was placed at a side altar. In front of the portrait, a white skull cap sat on a red velvet cushion.
A second framed picture of the pope was placed in an adoration chapel on the church campus named for St. Francis.
Lucy Wilki, 75, of Naperville, walked towards the chapel Monday evening. She goes to adoration weekly and Mass “mostly every day,” she said. Wilki said she was surprised by the pope’s death, noting she had known Francis had been sick earlier this year but “we thought he got through it.”
In mid-February, Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he spent 38 days battling a near-fatal case of pneumonia in both lungs.
Wilki said she was praying “for the world’s healing” in the wake of Francis’ death. She also said it was too soon to think about the next pope.
“The church is supposed to be in mourning right now and focusing on that,” she said. “So we can’t think (about) the next step yet. I’m just praying for peace.”
To select a new pope, cardinals elect a successor through what’s known as the conclave.
“As Catholics, all of us priests, deacons, religious sisters, and parishioners of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish are saddened by the death of His Holiness, Pope Francis I,” Father William De Salvo, the church’s pastor, said in an emailed statement. “We mourn the loss of our Holy Father, who was a courageous and consistent witness and advocate for the truths of our Catholic faith, for life, peace, and love for God and one another.”
As of Monday evening, Sts. Peter and Paul hadn’t yet scheduled a special Mass for the pope, according to De Salvo. Rather, the parish is encouraging people to attend a remembrance Mass to be held by the Diocese of Joliet — which includes DuPage, Kendall, Will, Grundy, Kankakee, Iroquois and Ford counties — on Thursday at Joliet’s Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus.
The Chicago Tribune’s Jonathan Bullington, Carolyn Stein and Ikram Mohamed and The Associated Press contributed.
A sequoia forest in Detroit? Plantings to improve air quality and mark Earth Day 7:10 AM (last hour)
Arborists are turning vacant land on Detroit’s eastside into a small urban forest, not of elms, oaks and red maples indigenous to the city but giant sequoias, the world’s largest trees that can live for thousands of years.
The project on four lots will not only replace long-standing blight with majestic trees, but could also improve air quality and help preserve the trees that are native to California’s Sierra Nevada, where they are threatened by ever-hotter wildfires.
Detroit is the pilot city for the Giant Sequoia Filter Forest. The nonprofit Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is donating dozens of sequoia saplings that will be planted by staff and volunteers from Arboretum Detroit, another nonprofit, to mark Earth Day on April 22.
Co-founder David Milarch says Archangel also plans to plant sequoias in Los Angeles, Oakland, California, and London.
What are giant sequoias?
The massive conifers can grow to more than 300 feet tall with a more than 30-foot circumference at the base. They can live for more than 3,000 years.
“Here’s a tree that is bigger than your house when it’s mature, taller than your buildings, and lives longer than you can comprehend,” said Andrew “Birch” Kemp, Arboretum Detroit’s executive director.
The sequoias will eventually provide a full canopy that protects everything beneath, he said.
“It may be sad to call these .5- and 1-acre treescapes forests,” Kemp said. “We are expanding on this and shading our neighborhood in the only way possible, planting lots of trees.”
Giant sequoias are resilient against disease and insects, and are usually well-adapted to fire. Thick bark protects their trunks and their canopies tend to be too high for flames to reach. But climate change is making the big trees more vulnerable to wildfires out West, Kemp said.
“The fires are getting so hot that its even threatening them,” he said.
Descendants of Stagg and Waterfall
Archangel, based in Copemish, Michigan, preserves the genetics of old-growth trees for research and reforestation.
The sequoia saplings destined for Detroit are clones of two giants known as Stagg — the world’s fifth-largest tree — and Waterfall, of the Alder Creek grove, about 150 miles north of Los Angeles.
In 2010, Archangel began gathering cones and climbers scaled high into the trees to gather new-growth clippings from which they were able to develop and grow saplings.
A decade later, a wildfire burned through the grove. Waterfall was destroyed but Stagg survived. They will both live on in the Motor City.
Why Detroit?
Sequoias need space, and metropolitan Detroit has plenty of it.
In the 1950s, 1.8 million people called Detroit home, but the city’s population has since shrunk to about one-third of that number. Tens of thousands of homes were left empty and neglected.
While the city has demolished at least 24,000 vacant structures since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2014, thousands of empty lots remain. Kemp estimates that only about 10-15% of the original houses remain in the neighborhood where the sequoias will grow.
“There’s not another urban area I know of that has the kind of potential that we do to reforest,” he said. “We could all live in shady, fresh air beauty. It’s like no reason we can’t be the greenest city in the world.”
Within the last decade, 11 sequoias were planted on vacant lots owned by Arboretum Detroit and nine others were planted on private properties around the neighborhood. Each now reaches 12 to 15 feet tall. Arboretum Detroit has another 200 in its nursery. Kemp believes the trees will thrive in Detroit.
“They’re safer here … we don’t have wildfires like (California). The soil stays pretty moist, even in the summer,” he said. “They like to have that winter irrigation, so when the snow melts they can get a good drink.”
How will the sequoias impact Detroit?
Caring for the sequoias will fall to future generations, so Milarch has instigated what he calls “tree school” to teach Detroit’s youth how and why to look after the new trees.
“We empower our kids to teach them how to do this and give them the materials and the way to do this themselves,” Milarch said. “They take ownership. They grow them in the classrooms and plant them around the schools. They know we’re in environmental trouble.”
Some of them may never have even walked in a forest, Kemp said.
“How can we expect children who have never seen a forest to care about deforestation on the other side of the world?” Kemp said. “It is our responsibility to offer them their birthright.”
City residents are exposed to extreme air pollution and have high rates of asthma. The Detroit sequoias will grow near a heavily industrial area, a former incinerator and two interstates, he said.
Kemp’s nonprofit has already planted about 650 trees — comprising around 80 species — in some 40 lots in the area. But he believes the sequoias will have the greatest impact.
“Because these trees grow so fast, so large and they’re evergreen they’ll do amazing work filtering the air here,” Kemp said. “We live in pretty much a pollution hot spot. We’re trying to combat that. We’re trying to breathe clean air. We’re trying to create shade. We’re trying to soak up the stormwater, and I think sequoias — among all the trees we plant — may be the strongest, best candidates for that.”
Deliberations resume in state Sen. Emil Jones III bribery trial 6:47 AM (2 hours ago)
Jurors on Tuesday resumed deliberations in the federal corruption trial of state Sen. Emil Jones III, after nine days in which prosecutors argued Jones had sold his power as a state senator for the promise of a $5,000 campaign contribution and a minimum wage job for his intern.
Jones’ defense attorneys argued that the South Side Democrat was caught in a web of other lawmakers on the take who had corrupt relationships with Omar Maani, a red-light camera executive who cooperated with the feds in exchange for deferred prosecution on his own bribery charges.
The jury returned to court Tuesday morning to weigh counts of bribery, use of an interstate facility to solicit bribery and lying to federal agents. The most serious charge carries up to 10 years in prison, while the others have a five-year maximum term. If Jones, 46, is found guilty, he would be forced to give up his Senate seat, which he took over from his father in 2009, and likely lose any future pension.
In closing arguments Monday before a full gallery that included Jones’ father, former Senate President Emil Jones Jr., Jones’ lawyer Vic Henderson portrayed his client in a “David vs. Goliath” fight against the feds — all for the sake of a long-stalled proposal to conduct a statewide study of red light cameras across Illinois. His attorneys painted a portrait of him as a hardworking state legislator who was simply trying to get his bill through a stubborn committee process.
Jones testified in his own defense last week that he met with Maani to curry favor with the corrupt head of the transportation committee, then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval, who admitted to taking cash payments from Maani. He testified that he was trying to distance himself from Maani, who reminded him of a “used car salesman,” and described his request for an internship as a routine job recommendation for a family friend.
But prosecutors said Jones, who had been skeptical of red-light cameras for years, changed his tune on the bill he was pushing once Maani began to court him with steak dinners and offers of sponsorship for campaign contributions. In a recorded conversation played for the jury, Maani can be heard asking Jones “how much money you want me to come up with?”
Jones, a few moments later, replied: “If you can raise me five grand, that’d be good.”
While Jones’ defense team focused on the fact that no payment was made to Jones, prosecutors reminded jurors that Jones said he’d amend the bill and “protect” Maani’s company from a House opponent soon after Maani promised him the money and arranged a job for the senator’s intern.
“Legislators and legislation should not be up for sale for any price,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Ardam told the panel during closing arguments. “That is a crime.”
Death investigation launched after newborn found dead in freezer at New City apartment building 4:26 AM (4 hours ago)
Chicago police opened a death investigation after a newborn baby was discovered unresponsive overnight inside an apartment building on the South Side.
Around midnight Tuesday, officers were called out to an apartment building in the 4700 block of South Damen Avenue where a newborn baby was discovered unresponsive, Chicago police said.
The time of death was 10:45 p.m. Monday according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
According to police the baby was found inside a freezer at the address about midnight Tuesday. Later, police said the medical examiner’s time of death for the newborn was correct.
The newborn was taken to Stroger Hospital and pronounced dead.
The circumstance surrounding the infants death are under investigation. There was no additional information immediately available.
Man found fatally wounded overnight outside in Edgewater neighborhood 4:13 AM (4 hours ago)
Chicago police officers discovered a 37-year-old man fatally wounded early Tuesday morning in the Edgewater neighborhood.
Officers responded to a call of a person shot shortly after 2:15 a.m. in the 6000 block of North Sheridan Road and found a man lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the inner thigh, Chicago police said.
The man was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston where he was pronounced dead.
No one was in custody, and detectives were investigating.
Who will be the next pope? These cardinals are seen as contenders. 3:07 AM (5 hours ago)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — A popular saying in Vatican circles is that if you “enter a conclave as pope, you leave as a cardinal.”
It implies the sacred and secretive process is no popularity contest or campaign, but rather the divinely inspired election of Christ’s Vicar on Earth by the princes of the church.
Still, there are always front-runners, known as “papabile,” who have at least some of the qualities considered necessary to be pope — much like those depicted in last year’s Oscar-nominated film “Conclave.”
Any baptized Catholic male is eligible, though only cardinals have been selected since 1378. The winner must receive at least two-thirds of the vote from those cardinals under age 80 and thus eligible to participate. Pope Francis, who died Monday, appointed the vast majority of electors, often tapping men who share his pastoral priorities, which suggests continuity rather than rupture.
Anyone trying to handicap the outcome should remember that Jorge Mario Bergoglio was considered too old to be elected pope in 2013 at age 76, and that Karol Wojtyla wasn’t on any front-runner lists going into the 1978 conclave that elected him Pope John Paul II.
Some possible candidates:
Cardinal Peter Erdo
Erdo, 72, the archbishop of Budapest and primate of Hungary, was twice elected head of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences, in 2005 and 2011, suggesting he enjoys the esteem of European cardinals who make up the biggest voting bloc of electors. In that capacity, Erdo got to know many African cardinals because the council hosts regular sessions with African bishops’ conferences. Erdo had even more exposure when he helped organize Francis’ 2014 and 2015 Vatican meetings on the family and delivered key speeches, as well as during papal visits to Budapest in 2021 and 2023.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx
Marx, 71, the archbishop of Munich and Freising, was chosen by Francis as a key adviser in 2013. Marx later was named to head the council overseeing Vatican finances during reforms and belt-tightening. The former president of the German bishops’ conference was a strong proponent of the controversial “synodal path” process of dialogue in the German church that began in 2020 as a response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal there. As a result, he is viewed with skepticism by conservatives who considered the process a threat to church unity, given it involved debating issues such as celibacy, homosexuality and women’s ordination. Marx made headlines in 2021 when he dramatically offered to resign as archbishop to atone for the German church’s dreadful abuse record, but Francis quickly rejected the resignation and told him to stay.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet
Ouellet, 80, of Canada, led the Vatican’s influential bishops office for over a decade, overseeing the key clearinghouse for potential candidates to head dioceses around the world. Francis kept Ouellet in the job until 2023, even though he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, and thus helped select the more doctrinaire bishops preferred by the German pontiff. Considered more of a conservative than Francis, Ouellet still selected pastorally minded bishops to reflect Francis’ belief that bishops should “smell like the sheep” of their flock. Ouellet defended priestly celibacy for the Latin Rite church and upheld the ban on women’s ordination but called for women to have a greater role in church governance. He has good contacts with the Latin American church, having headed the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for Latin America for over a decade. Since 2019, his office has taken charge of investigating bishops accused of covering up for predator priests, a job that would have made him no friends among those sanctioned but also could have given him lots of otherwise confidential and possibly compromising information about fellow cardinals.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Parolin, 70, of Italy, has been Francis’ secretary of state since 2014 and is considered one of the main contenders to be pope, given his prominence in the Catholic hierarchy. The veteran diplomat oversaw the Holy See’s controversial deal with China over bishop nominations and was involved — but not charged — in the Vatican’s botched investment in a London real estate venture that led to a 2021 trial of another cardinal and nine others. A former ambassador to Venezuela, Parolin knows the Latin American church well. He would be seen as someone who would continue in Francis’ tradition but as a more sober and timid diplomatic insider, returning an Italian to the papacy after three successive outsiders: St. John Paul II (Poland); Benedict (Germany) and Francis (Argentina). But while Parolin has managed the Vatican bureaucracy, he has no real pastoral experience. His ties to the London scandal, in which his office lost tens of millions of dollars to bad deals and shady businessmen, could count against him.
Cardinal Robert Prevost
The idea of an American pope has long been taboo, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States. But the Chicago-born Prevost, 69, could be a first. He has extensive experience in Peru, first as a missionary and then an archbishop, and he is currently prefect of the Vatican’s powerful dicastery for bishops, in charge of vetting nominations for bishops around the world. Francis clearly had an eye on him for years and sent him to run the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014. He held that position until 2023, when Francis brought him to Rome for his current role. Prevost is also president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a job that keeps him in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in the part of the world that still counts the most Catholics. In addition to his nationality, Prevost’s comparative youth could count against him if his brother cardinals don’t want to commit to a pope who might reign for another two decades.
Cardinal Robert Sarah
Sarah, 79, of Guinea, the retired head of the Vatican’s liturgy office, was long considered the best hope for an African pope. Beloved by conservatives, Sarah would signal a return to the doctrinaire and liturgically minded papacies of John Paul II and Benedict. Sarah, who had previously headed the Vatican’s charity office Cor Unum, clashed on several occasions with Francis, none more seriously than when he and Benedict co-authored a book advocating the “necessity” of continued celibacy for Latin Rite priests. The book came out as Francis was weighing whether to allow married priests in the Amazon to address a priest shortage there. The implication was that Sarah had manipulated Benedict into lending his name and moral authority to a book that had all the appearances of being a counterweight to Francis’ own teaching. Francis dismissed Benedict’s secretary and several months later retired Sarah after he turned 75. Even Sarah’s supporters lamented the episode hurt his papal chances.
Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn
Schoenborn, 80, the archbishop of Vienna, Austria, was a student of Benedict’s, and thus on paper seems to have the doctrinaire academic chops to appeal to conservatives. However, he became associated with one of Francis’ most controversial moves by defending his outreach to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics as an “organic development of doctrine,” not the rupture that some conservatives contended. Schoenborn’s parents divorced when he was a teen, so the issue is personal. He also took heat from the Vatican when he criticized its past refusal to sanction high-ranking sexual abusers, including his predecessor as archbishop of Vienna. Schoenborn has expressed support for civil unions and women as deacons, and was instrumental in editing the 1992 update of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the handbook of the church’s teaching that Benedict had spearheaded when he headed the Vatican’s doctrine office.
Cardinal Luis Tagle
Tagle, 67, of the Philippines, would appear to be Francis’ pick for the first Asian pope. Francis brought the popular archbishop of Manila to Rome to head the Vatican’s missionary evangelization office, which serves the needs of the Catholic Church in much of Asia and Africa. His role took on greater weight when Francis reformed the Vatican bureaucracy and raised the importance of his evangelization office. Tagle often cites his Chinese lineage – his maternal grandmother was part of a Chinese family that moved to the Philippines — and he is known for becoming emotional when discussing his childhood. Though he has pastoral, Vatican and management experience — he headed the Vatican’s Caritas Internationalis federation of charity groups before coming to Rome permanently — Tagle would be on the young side to be elected pope for life, with cardinals perhaps preferring an older candidate whose papacy would be more limited.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
Zuppi, 69, the archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian bishops conference, elected in 2022, is closely affiliated with the Sant’Egidio Community, a Rome-based Catholic charity that was influential under Francis, particularly in interfaith dialogue. Zuppi was part of Sant’Egidio’s team that helped negotiate the end of Mozambique’s civil war in the 1990s and was named Francis’ peace envoy for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Francis made him a cardinal in 2019 and later made clear he wanted him in charge of Italy’s bishops, a sign of his admiration for the prelate who, like Francis, is known as a “street priest.” In another sign of his progressive leanings and closeness to Francis, Zuppi wrote the introduction to the Italian edition of “Building a Bridge,” by the Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit, about the church’s need to improve its outreach to the LGBTQ+ community. Zuppi would be a candidate in Francis’ tradition of ministering to those on the margins, although his relative youth would count against him for cardinals seeking a short papacy. His family had strong institutional ties: Zuppi’s father worked for the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, and his mother was the niece of Cardinal Carlo Confalonieri, dean of the College of Cardinals in the 1960s and 1970s.
Date of Pope Francis’ funeral announced 3:06 AM (5 hours ago)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will be laid to rest Saturday after lying in state for three days in St. Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff.
The cardinals met Tuesday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10.
The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. U.S. President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump plan to attend, and Argentine President Javier Milei is also expected.
The Argentine pope died Monday at age 88 after a stroke put him in a coma and led his heart to fail. He had been recovering in his apartment after being hospitalized for five weeks with pneumonia. He made his last public appearance Sunday, delivering an Easter blessing and greeting followers from his popemobile, looping around St. Peter’s Square.
His Easter appearance from the same loggia where he was introduced to the world as the first pope from the Americas on March 13, 2013, was a fitting bookend to a 12-year papacy that sought to shake up the church and return it to its Gospel-mandated mission of caring for the poorest.
Vatican officials remember Francis
“He truly gave everything he had, up to the end,” said Sister Nathalie Becquart, one of the highest-ranking women at the Vatican.
While the ordinary faithful will have an opportunity to pay their respects beginning Wednesday, Vatican officials were allowed to say their goodbyes starting Monday evening. Speaking to reporters after she paid her respects, Becquart marveled at Francis’ final Easter salute to his flock. “He really walked with his people,” she said.
Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi said it was specifically Francis’ effort to promote the role of women in the church that will be one of his greatest legacies. Ravasi noted that Francis chose to be buried near his favorite icon of the Madonna, in a basilica across town, and not in the grottoes underneath St. Peter’s, as is typical for popes.
“He wanted to be buried under the shadow of a woman, in this case Maria,” said Ravasi, the Vatican’s former culture minister as he arrived for Tuesday’s first meeting of cardinals. “That is significant, his desire for the church to do more for women.”
The first images of Francis’ body were released Tuesday, showing him in red vestments and his bishop’s miter in a wooden casket, with the Vatican secretary of state praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived and died.
In his final will, Francis said he wanted to be buried at St. Mary Major Basilica, which is home to the Salus Populi Romani icon of Mary. Before and after every foreign trip, Francis would go to the basilica to pray before the Byzantine-style painting that features an image of Mary, draped in a blue robe, holding the infant Jesus, who in turn holds a jeweled golden book.
Francis stopped by the basilica on his way home from the Gemelli hospital on March 23, after his 38-day stay, to deliver flowers to be placed before the icon. He returned April 12 to pray before it one last time.
The world reacts
Bells tolled in chapels, churches and cathedrals around the world and flags flew at half-staff in Italy, India, Taiwan and the U.S. after Francis’ death was announced by the camerlengo, who takes charge of the Vatican after a pope’s death. Soccer matches in Italy and Argentina were suspended in honor of the pope who was a lifelong fan of the San Lorenzo soccer club.
World leaders praised Francis for his moral leadership and compassion, while ordinary faithful remembered his simplicity and humanity.
“Like every Argentine, I think he was a rebel,” said 23-year-old Catalina Favaro, who had come to pay her respects in the Buenos Aires church where Francis discovered his priestly vocation. “He may have been contradictory, but that was nice, too.”
In East Timor, where Francis’ final outdoor Mass drew nearly half of the population last September, President Jose Ramos-Horta praised Francis’ courage. “Pope Francis was a brave man who was not afraid to speak out against the rulers of the world who seek war, but do not want to seek peace,” Ramos-Horta said.
“He challenged the powerful to act with justice, called nations to welcome the stranger, and reminded us that our common home — this Earth — is a gift we must protect for future generations,” said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who is Muslim. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and has around 30 million Catholics, representing about 14% of the population.
Viewing the pope’s coffin
The pope’s formal apartments in the Apostolic Palace and in the Santa Marta hotel were sealed Monday evening, following a centuries-old ritual. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who as camerlengo had the task of announcing the death and confirming it once the cause was determined, presided over the rituals.
Francis chose not to live in the palace, but in a two-room suite in Santa Marta on the other side of Vatican City. He died there and his body was transferred to the hotel chapel in the lobby, where the private viewing was underway Tuesday for Vatican officials and members of the pontifical household.
In changes made by Francis last year, his body was not placed in three wooden coffins, as it had been for previous popes. Rather, Francis was placed in a simplified wooden coffin with a zinc coffin inside.
Once in St. Peter’s, his casket will not be put on an elevated bier — as was the case with past popes — but will just be be placed simply facing the pews, with the Paschal candle nearby.
“He was a pope who didn’t change his path when it came to getting (his hands) dirty,” Francis’ vicar for Rome, Cardinal Baldassarre Reina, said in a Mass in his honor. “For him, poor people and migrants were the sacrament of Jesus.”
Choosing the next pope
After the funeral, there are nine days of official mourning, known as the “novendiali.” During this period, cardinals arrive in Rome and meet privately before the conclave.
To give everyone time to assemble, the conclave must begin 15 to 20 days after the “sede vacante” — the “vacant See” — is declared, although it can start sooner if the cardinals agree.
Once the conclave begins, cardinals vote in secret sessions in the Sistine Chapel. After voting sessions, the ballots are burned in a special stove. Black smoke indicates that no pope has been elected, while white smoke indicates that the cardinals have chosen the next head of the Catholic Church.
The one who has secured two-thirds of the votes wins. If he accepts, his election is announced by a cardinal from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica who tells the world: “Habemus Papam” — Latin for “We have a pope.”
What is the Chicago Bears’ biggest need? Who would be the top prize at No. 10? 4 NFL draft questions. 3:00 AM (6 hours ago)
NFL draft week finally has arrived. General manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson have spoken optimistically about what the Chicago Bears can accomplish, particularly with four selections in the top 72.
As the plans come together in Lake Forest and the Bears ready for another pivotal period in their offseason, Tribune writers Brad Biggs, Sean Hammond and Dan Wiederer offer their perspective and insight on four key topics in fill-in-the-blank format.
1. The Bears’ biggest need going into draft weekend is ____.
Brad Biggs: An impact player at No. 10.
Yes, they need a left tackle to compete for the job with Braxton Jones still rehabilitating from ankle surgery and Kiran Amegadjie an unknown after a rookie season clouded by his own rehab process. But if there isn’t one to select in the first round — and there’s a decent chance LSU’s Will Campbell will be off the board — the Bears can’t create a player who isn’t there.
They have enough needs and wants at other positions where they can create competition and add talent. Whether that’s on the defensive line, in the secondary, elsewhere on the offensive line or at running back or tight end, there’s space for an upgrade. The pick needs to be a hit for a team that, since 2008, has had only three first-round picks selected to the Pro Bowl (not added as an alternate): linebacker Roquan Smith, cornerback Kyle Fuller and guard Kyle Long.
Sean Hammond: The offensive line.
The Bears landed three new starters on the interior in March. That doesn’t mean they should be content. Jones needed surgery on his left ankle in the offseason. While he has started 40 games at left tackle over the last three years, it remains debatable whether he’s the long-term answer on Caleb Williams’ blind side. If Poles and Johnson can address the left tackle spot in a big way during the draft, they would feel really good about the group they’ve assembled in one offseason.
Dan Wiederer: Line depth on both sides of the ball.
Sure, the Bears did a masterful job of fortifying the interior of the offensive line in March, buying themselves flexibility to navigate the draft with eyes scanning in all directions. But finding a starter at left tackle — or at least heightened competition for Jones — sure would be nice. Poles and Johnson also understand the need to accumulate quality depth up front and should operate accordingly.
Additionally, the defensive line could use more teeth. Dennis Allen’s push to juice up the pass rush will include a focus on adding players both on the edge and inside. The Bears should aim by Saturday night to have at least two new linemen who can make an early and significant impact in 2025.
2. The Bears should be crossing their fingers that they can select ____ at No. 10.
Biggs: Will Campbell or Ashton Jeanty.
There’s probably a better chance both players are off the board before then — and perhaps in the top six selections — but if they’re going to cross their fingers, there’s nothing wrong with dreaming big. Campbell could be plugged in at left tackle immediately, and Boise State running back Jeanty would be a terrific weapon for Johnson. Landing either would enhance the offense for Williams in his second season.
Let’s assume Campbell and Jeanty are not available for the Bears. In that scenario, folks around the league say Halas Hall is open for business and the team would be interested in trading down with the belief that the strength of the draft is rooted in Day 2 depth. If the Houston Texans are set on landing a left tackle, would they be willing to trade the Nos. 25, 58 (Round 2) and 89 (Round 3) picks to move up to 10 for Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks? Draft trade charts say that compensation would be a little light for the Bears, but if it’s a buyer’s market, would that be enough for Poles to move?
NFL mock draft 2.0: Who will the Chicago Bears select with the No. 10 pick?
Hammond: Will Campbell.
Cross the fingers. Knock on wood. Say a prayer. Do whatever you need to do because it probably won’t happen. Campbell looks like the best left tackle in the draft. That probably means he will be long gone by the time No. 10 rolls around. The New England Patriots at No. 4 or New York Jets at No. 7 are strong possibilities to select a tackle. Perhaps another team is in the mix too.
The Bears should be hoping other teams are scared off by Campbell’s shorter-than-ideal arms. Assuming Campbell is gone by the 10th pick, Banks looks like he could be a good fit at left tackle. Of course, if Jeanty is still available, the Bears need to consider him.
Wiederer: Mason Graham.
As we talked about above, the effort to strengthen the defensive line should be concerted this week. And if Graham somehow falls to No. 10, the Bears should be ecstatic. The two-time All-America defensive tackle from Michigan has a high-level feel for the game and football character that’s off the charts.
Graham’s background as a standout high school wrestler is also notable in the way he understands leverage and plays to his strengths. It’s difficult to find players with the combination of power, balance and instincts Graham has. He would be a Day 1 starter with the potential to be a difference maker well into the 2030s.
3. Through his first three drafts, general manager Ryan Poles’ performance has been ____.
Biggs: OK.
Make no mistake, Williams’ future is likely to define Poles’ tenure. If he’s a hit, it will be so much easier for other things to fall into place. If not, the Bears will be scrambling in less time than you might imagine.
It’s a little premature to make full judgments on defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, second-round picks in 2023. If they take off, that would make the first three drafts look productive. But they need to elevate their games for the new coaching staff this season. Getting Jones in Round 5 in 2022 was a shrewd move, but the Bears need more Day 2 and Day 3 hits.
Hammond: A learning experience.
There’s still a chance the answer could be “foundation-setting,” but the jury remains out on many of his top picks, most notably Williams. If you get the quarterback right, that solves a lot of problems. This will be a big season for Williams, and Poles has a lot riding on the young quarterback’s shoulders.
2025 NFL draft: Everything you need to know, including when the Chicago Bears pick and how to watch
Poles, who was 36 when he took over in 2022, has had a few years to learn on the job. All of his first- and second-round selections remain on the team and have the potential to be significant contributors, if not foundational pieces. The counterargument is Poles’ success rate once he hits Round 3 (Velus Jones Jr., Zacch Pickens and Kiran Amegadjie) doesn’t look quite as promising. Beyond that, it’s easy to nitpick Day 3 picks. To some extent, those are all dart throws.
Wiederer: Subpar.
The Bears have been celebrating this month’s contract extension for cornerback Kyler Gordon, who was Poles’ first draft pick in Round 2 in 2022. And that excitement is understandable. Gordon was a promising prospect who has developed into an impact playmaker and now is under contract through 2028. But of the other 25 players Poles has taken in his first three drafts, it’s hard to say definitively whether more than two or three will become second-contract players with the Bears.
Five players from Poles’ initial draft class are gone, including Velus Jones, who was a massive miss as a third-round selection. And it’s arguable that Poles hasn’t had an impact hit outside of the top 40 picks. (Braxton Jones may be the lone candidate.) Simply put, after promising to build a championship contender through the draft, Poles hasn’t built much. This is a pivotal draft to change that.
4. When it comes to upgrading his offense, new coach Ben Johnson should be pushing for ____.
Biggs: A potential No. 1 running back who can pair well with D’Andre Swift.
Fortunately for the Bears, this is a terrific class of running backs to consider, and they should be well-positioned to add one with three Day 2 picks: two in the second round and one in the third. It’s a bonus when needs align with strengths in the draft, and Johnson should feel confident about the prospect of bolstering the backfield.
Hammond: Whatever makes life easier for Williams.
I made my opinion pretty clear above. Left tackle is a key spot. At the same time, if you want to argue that the Bears need to draft a playmaker at No. 10, you could talk me into it.
Is Tyler Warren the type of tight end who would allow Johnson’s play-calling creativity to flourish and give Williams a rock-solid target? If the answer is yes, then I would understand the move. Or if Jeanty is there and he’s too good to pass up? Go for it. But if the Bears do that, they better be darn sure they get it right. The offense needs a good player who will be reliable for the quarterback, whether he’s blocking on the blind side or catching passes.
Wiederer: Weaponry.
We’ve acknowledged the push to add to the offensive line. But the Bears also would be well-served to add multiple weapons to Johnson’s attack. Yes, they have plenty of established playmakers with DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet and Swift. But all three of those positions — wide receiver, tight end and running back — need to be strengthened.
Running back may be the Bears’ biggest need. And as fate would have it, this running back draft class has been cast as one of the deepest and most talented in recent memory. Dreams of a union with Jeanty in Round 1 are understandable. He’s on a fast track to becoming an NFL star. But even if the Bears wait until Friday, terrific backfield options should be available at Nos. 39 and 41, potentially including Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson, Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo and Central Florida’s RJ Harvey.