Papal symbols removed at Taal Basilica after Pope Francis’ death

The Papal symbols of Pope Francis were removed on Wednesday at the Minor Basilica and Parish of St. Martin of Tours in Taal, Batangas following his death at 88.

Fr. Bernard Aguila, rector and parish priest of Taal Basilica, led the removal of the Papal symbols.

Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was elected as successor to the late Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.

The pontiff died on Monday due to a stroke and irreversible heart failure.

Following Pope Francis’ death, the Catholic Church is in a period of sede vacante, which means the Papacy is vacant and the papal coat of arms will be replaced by a sede vacante seal.

The seal is the insignia of the Holy See, stripped of the recently deceased pope’s coat of arms, and featuring over a pair of keys an unfurled, crimson-and-gold little umbrella or umbraculum with a cross-topped orb on its summit.

When a pope dies, the umbraculum on the seal of the Holy See calls to mind the office of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church. It also reminds Catholics that the powers Christ gave to the Church endure even in the absence of a pope. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/LDF, GMA Integrated News