VATICAN CITY - Following the death of Pope John Paul II, responsibility for temporary power in the Vatican has passed to a senior official known as the cardinal camerlengo.
That post, filled by Eduardo Cardinal Martinez Somalo, gives him the task of heading the huge Vatican machinery and calling a congregation of cardinals as soon as possible to make arrangements for the funeral.
He also sets the calendar for the sequence of events that lead up to the appointment of the late pope's successor.
Having determined the day of the funeral, the cardinal makes the necessary arrangements to have the pope's body transferred to Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican where it is laid out before the faithful.
The funeral and burial are to take place between four and six days from the moment of the pope's death.
Official delegations will come from around the world to attend the funeral mass celebrated by the oldest cardinal, Bernardin Gantin.
The conclave to elect a new pope must begin at least 15 but no more than 20 days after the pope's death.
At one of the first congregations to be held before the electoral conclave, the cardinals must read any documents or letters which the deceased pope has left them.
They must also confirm that the camerlengo has destroyed the papal ring and seals, symbolizing the end of the dead pope's pontificate.
A number of practical decisions may also be made, concerning for example day-to-day expenses or bonuses to Vatican employees.
Two Church leaders considered "exemplary in their doctrine, wisdom and moral authority" will be designated to deliver meditations on the Church's current problems -- often seen as containing hints as to who the pope's successor is likely to be.
Popes are traditionally buried in Saint Peter's Basilica, though there have been exceptions, but this decision would not be taken until after the pope's last testament is read.
According to Polish sources, the former Karol Wojtyla has expressed a wish to be buried in his family tomb at Wadowice, near Krakow.
Personal testamentary arrangements are carried out by the pope's executors, who are required to report to his eventual successor on the dispositions they have taken.
No photographic or audio record of the pope's last moments must be left for posterity unless the cardinal camerlengo decides otherwise.
According to John Paul II's own apostolic constitution of 1996, "when the sovereign pontiff is dying, or after his death, no one may take photographs of him nor, while he is still alive, record his words on a tape recorder in order to reproduce them subsequently."
However, exceptions can be made to this rule at the cardinal camerlengo's discretion.
The rulings concerning the final days of a pope were introduced following the death of Pius XII in 1956, when his personal doctor published a picture of him on his deathbed still wearing an oxygen mask.
04/02/2005 20:30 GMT