Pope John Paul II's funeral will be held Friday morning, and his remains will be interred in the grotto of St. Peter's Basilica where pontiffs throughout the ages have been laid to rest, the Vatican siad Monday. Chief spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls made the announcement after the College of Cardinals held two meetings over the course of 2 1/2 hours in its first gatherings since the pope's death and ahead of a secret vote later this month to elect a successor to John Paul.Navarro -Valls said John Paul would "almost surely" be buried in the tomb where Pope John XXIII lay before he was brought up onto the main floor of the Basilica.
That pope, who died in 1963, was moved after his 2000 beatification because so many pilgrims wanted to visit his tomb, and the grotto is in a cramped underground space. John Paul will be buried immediately after the funeral, he said.
Archbishop Josef Clemens, secretary of the Vatican office for lay people and a former aide to top Vatican cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, said not all the cardinal electors had arrived in Rome in time to attend Monday's first session.
Asked about the atmosphere among the cardinals, he said: "Sad, but hopeful."
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