Pope Francis to Lead Final Ceremony at Cardinal Tomko's Farewell in Rome

Vatican, August 9 (TASR) – Pope Francis will attend Slovak Cardinal Jozef Tomko’s final farewell in person and will lead the final farewell ceremony, the Slovak Bishops Conference (KBS)’s press office told TASR on Tuesday.

A requiem mass, which will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday (August 11) in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, will be celebrated by Tomko’s long-term friend, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. After the mass, Pope Francis will lead the final farewell ceremony.

Slovak bishops will take part in the ceremony as well. Head of the Slovak diplomatic mission at the Vatican Marek Lisansky said that Slovak bishops will travel to Rome by the government plane, which will later transport Cardinal Tomko’s remains to Slovakia.

In line with the schedule published by the KBS press office, the several-day farewell to Cardinal Tomko in Slovakia will begin on Friday (August 12) and Saturday (August 13) in St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava. It will continue in St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral in Kosice on Sunday (August 14) and Monday (August 15), culminating in a holy mass including the funeral on Tuesday (August 16). The mass will be led by Czech Archbishop emeritus, Cardinal Dominik Duka.