The director is not sentimental and shows the stark reality: the pope's death means a body to be packed and an empty throne. The cardinals gathered in the Holy Father's room are silent ...

There the Pope descended and, while all knelt, approached the throne, accompanied by two attendants holding flabelli—great ostrich-feather fans—on either side of his head. The Pope prayed ...

Sacred traditions and time-honoured rituals of the Vatican are elevated to their most beautiful heights, from the melted red wax that seals off the deceased Pope's room to the distinct regalia the ...