Although Pope Francis simplified the papal funeral rites in a move of typical modesty, Saturday’s ceremony will still be full of pomp and pageantry, as the world’s Catholics bid him farewell and cardinals in the Vatican ready themselves for the millennia-old process of picking a new pontiff.

Pope transformed the church’s senior leadership, exposing growing differences over teachings. “Once you start opening the door, then there is confusion and also ambiguity in the doctrines,” says one cardinal.

The pontiff’s death initiated a well-structured series of rituals designed to mourn the loss of the 1.3 billion-member church’s leader and to ensure stability with the selection of a new pope.