What you need to know
What happens over the next few days
After today’s funeral, there will follow several further days of funerary masses across Rome. This is an unusual break with precedent: typically the nine days of masses precede the final funerary mass.
The decision was made at a general congregation, where all cardinals can gather to guide the church when the chair of St Peter is vacant. The congregations are led by the carmelengo, in this instance Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
The general congregations will continue over the coming days until the conclave begins, expected on Monday 5 May. They are opportunities for cardinals to make speeches about the future of the church, and potentially to even frame themselves as being a worthy successor to Francis.
Zelensky meets Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, have met President Zelensky at the British embassy in Rome.
The Ukrainian leader met President Trump earlier on in a private meeting before the funeral of Pope Francis.
Starmer and Zelensky last met in early March, when the Ukrainian president was invited to Downing Street before a summit of European leaders. At that meeting Starmer signed a £2.26 billion loan for Ukrainian military supplies that would be repaid using profits from frozen Russian assets.
A complete guide to the next few weeks
After the centuries-old rituals and processes of the pontiff’s funeral, questions will soon turn to who will become the new pope — the man who will soon emerge from behind a red curtain and greet the waiting crowds from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
Our visual timeline explores the conclave, the voting procedure and the smoke signals that are yet to come.
The key to the future pope
The conclave is the election of the next pope by the College of Cardinals. The word literally means ‘with a key’, and signifies that the cardinals will effectively be locked inside the Sistine Chapel until a successor is chosen.
Only those under the age of 80 may participate, meaning there are 135 cardinal electors.
According to the rules governing the death of a pope, a conclave must start 15 days after the death of the pope, although this may be extended to no more than 20 days. It is expected to begin on Monday 5 May.
During the conclave, the cardinals will live in the Casa Santa Marta, where Francis kept his private apartment, and will not be allowed access to the outside world.
Zelensky meets Macron after funeral
President Zelensky also met President Macron after the funeral, Ukraine’s foreign minister said.
“Happening now: @ZelenskyyUa and @EmmanuelMacron having a tete-a-tete about further peace efforts,” Andriy Sybiga wrote on X.
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The Pope’s final journey through the Eternal City
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Who could succeed Francis?
Any of the cardinals on the altar at today’s funeral for Pope Francis could be the next man to lead the Catholic Church.
However, only a few are considered serious contenders. They are known as the papabili — literally the “popeable” cardinals. Of them, only a handful have formal positions in the church hierarchy.
One is Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The Cardinal secretary of state, 70, he was effectively the prime minister and head diplomat of the Vatican under Francis.
Cardinal Luis Tagle, 67, is another highly-rated candidate. From the Philippines, he is currently the head of the Vatican body responsible for evangelisation.
Other papabili do not hold formal Vatican jobs, such as Cardinal Peter Erdo, the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, and Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna.
From Francis’s funeral to the new Pope
A new head of the Catholic Church will soon emerge from behind a red curtain and greet the waiting crowds from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
But first comes a series of centuries-old rituals and processes — and a burial that breaks with tradition.
Here’s a complete guide to the next few weeks, as one pontiff is laid to rest and another is chosen.
250,000 travelled to Rome for funeral
The coffin of Pope Francis is being interred in its tomb at Santa Maria Maggiore. The entombment ceremony is not being televised.
Outside the basilica the square was closed, but a rosary will be recited on its steps at about 9pm local time.
In total, the Vatican said 250,000 people travelled to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, including 40,000 in St Peter’s Square itself.
World leaders and dignitaries from more than 100 countries were also in attendance, while thousands lined the streets to pay tribute to the late pope as his coffin passed them in a procession to his final resting place.
Pope Francis was particular about his burial
Pope Francis was very particular about his burial, but this is not always the case. Just five months after his papacy began in 1978, John Paul II made notes on his death and said “in the bare earth, not a tomb”.
When he did die more than 26 years later, there was debate as to where this should be. Some of John Paul’s Polish countrymen requested that his heart be sent to Poland but the decision was left with the college of cardinals and they elected to keep him in the grottoes of St Peter’s.
However, popes do not necessarily stay in the same grave. John Paul II was laid in the spot originally occupied by John XXIII, his predecessor but two. John XIII had been beatified and moved to the Altar of Saint Jerome in St Peter’s Basilica. He was subsequently canonised.
That spot was then also vacated by John Paul II. He was moved to St Peter’s Chapel of Saint Sebastian in 2011 following his beatification (he was canonised three years later). His original space in the crypt is now occupied by his successor, Benedict XVI.
Zelensky: I had a good meeting with Trump
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Cherie Blair: the Pope Francis I met stood for love
As the vast crowds patiently filed past his coffin in St Peter’s Basilica, the message was unmistakable: Pope Francis was, above all else, a pope for the people.
He strove to resist the splendour and remoteness that can come with the papacy. He chose simplicity in life and in death, from the moment he stepped out on to the balcony of St Peter’s in 2013, asking the world to pray for him before he blessed them, not as the holder of the highest office in the Catholic Church, but as its pastor.
• The Pope Francis I met stood for a radical idea: real love
Coffin arrives at Santa Maria Maggiore
The pope’s coffin has arrived at Santa Maria Maggiore, where it will be laid to rest. The basilica on the Esquiline, one of the seven hills of Rome, was chosen by Pope Francis in his will.
It is the first shrine in the Western world to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and one of the four great churches of Catholicism.
Most popes are buried in the Vatican, at St Peter’s Basilica. The last to choose another site was Leo XIII, who was buried in 1903 in the Archbasilica of St John Lateran, about two miles northwest.
Francis’s decision was in part due to his special devotion to Mary. A 1,000-year-old Byzantine icon of Mary and Jesus, called the Salus Populi Romani, is enshrined in the basilica.
It is also an outward signal of the late pope’s humility. In Ancient Rome, the Esquiline was the traditional burial ground for slaves and the poor.
Bulk of the funeral conducted in Latin
Almost all of the funeral service for Pope Francis was in Latin, the official language of the Holy See, although most of the administrative work of Vatican City is carried out in Italian.
In recent years, the use of Latin in church rites has become a key dividing line between the traditionalist and liberal members of the clergy.
Until 1969, the Tridentine Mass was the primary liturgical rite used by the church, with Latin being the language for the service. It was replaced by the Second Vatican Council with a more modern version requiring the use of the local language.
Although restrictions were relaxed by Popes St John Paul II and Benedict XVI, it was banned again for most situations by Pope Francis. For this mass, Latin was most likely chosen so as not to discriminate in favour of any particular country.
Crowd applaud as coffin is driven through streets
Macron, Starmer, Trump and Zelensky gather
Zelensky meets Trump at St Peter’s
The leaders of Ukraine and the US had a brief meeting on Saturday as Washington continues to push for a controversial peace deal which would involve Kyiv ceding territory to Russia.
Coffin to be taken to final resting place
As the assembled dignitaries and prelates file out, the coffin of Pope Francis will now be taken through the streets of Rome to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where it will be interred.
It will travel inside the Popemobile at walking pace. The journey is expected to take about one hour.
When it arrives at the basilica, a group of “poor and needy people” will meet the coffin.
A Vatican spokesperson said: “The poor have a special place in God’s heart. So too in the heart and Magisterium of the Holy Father, who chose the name Francis so as to never forget them.
“For this reason, a group of poor and needy people will be present on the steps leading to the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pay their last respects to Pope Francis before the interment of the coffin.”
• Pope Francis picks his place in Catholic history at Santa Maria Maggiore
Funeral Mass comes to an end
The funeral mass for Pope Francis is now ending, as Cardinal Battista Re reads the final funerary prayers.
“Gracious Father, we commend to your mercy our Pope Francis whom you made Successor of Peter and Shepherd of the Church, a fearless preacher of your word and a faithful minister of the divine ministers,” he said.
“Welcome him, we pray, into your heavenly dwelling place, to enjoy eternal glory with all your chosen ones. We give you thanks, Lord, for all the blessings that in your goodness you bestowed upon him for the good of your people.”
Coffin is blessed with holy water and incense
Cardinal Battista Re has just blessed the coffin of Pope Francis with holy water and incense. Incense is a highly aromatic resin that is burned in a metal container on a long chain called a thurible.
Frankincense is typically used in church services, which is a highly concentrated form of the resin harvested from the Boswellia sacra tree. The Vatican primarily sources its frankincense from Somalia, but it can also be found in Oman, Yemen, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan.
One of the first Christmas presents, frankincense was one of the three gifts presented to the baby Jesus by the Magi. Today, incense is burned to sanctify a space, and the rising smoke is meant to symbolise the prayers of the faithful rising up towards God.
An ancient Byzantine icon
On the altar near the coffin is a copy of the Salus Populi Romani, a 1,000 year old Byzantine icon of Mary and Jesus.
The icon is enshrined in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where Pope Francis will be interred later today. He has requested to be buried near the painting.
The image arrived in Rome in AD590 during the reign of Pope St Gregory I. Three years later, Gregory had the icon carried through Rome in order to pray for an end to a plague.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Francis had the image placed in St Peter’s Square once more for an extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing.
Swiss Guard’s pledge to defend Pope
The distinctive Swiss Guard have been seen prominently all week as they are the Pope’s personal bodyguard. As we are in sede vacante (the throne is vacant) their duty is both to the body of the deceased Pope and to the College of Cardinals.
They date back to the medieval period when Swiss mercenaries were hired by the Papal States. Despite their Renaissance costume, they are a modern security service, swearing to defend the Pope to the death.
Pope Francis expanded their numbers to 135 (from 110) and recruits must indeed by Swiss, male, between 19 and 30, over 5ft 8in, Catholic, of “unblemished character” and unmarried (this last requirement is lifted after five years of service).
Prayer sung in Greek by clergy from Eastern Catholic Church
A prayer is now being sung in Greek by senior prelates from the Eastern Catholic Churches. These Churches are autonomous with their own rites, but in full communion with Rome and acknowledge the pope as their leader.
There are five cardinal electors who belong to Eastern Catholic Churches. They include Cardinal Mykola Bychok of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, who is the youngest cardinal at 45-years-old and is based in Melbourne, Australia.
The largest Eastern Catholic Church is the Syro-Malabar Church, based in India, led by Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the second-largest, and is led by Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk.
There are 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, with approximately 18 million members.
Assange joins mourners for the Pope
Julian Assange is in the crowd of mourners who travelled to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis. WikiLeaks has posted a picture of its founder on social media.
“Now Julian is free, we have all come to Rome to express our family’s gratitude for the Pope’s support during Julian’s persecution,” his wife Stella said.
“Our children and I had the honour of meeting Pope Francis in June 2023 to discuss how to free Julian from Belmarsh prison. Francis wrote to Julian in prison and even proposed to grant him asylum at the Vatican.”
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The Liturgy of the Saints
A deacon is now singing a call and response called the Liturgy of the Saints. During this section, he will sing the name of around 75 saints, and after each name the crowd replies “pray for us”.
The list includes the apostles of Jesus, the previous popes who were made saints and some of the high profile martyrs of the Catholic Church.
During his 12-year tenure, Pope Francis created 942 saints in a process called canonisation. However, a large portion of those saints were the 842 Martyrs of Otranto who were killed by Ottoman invaders in 1480 for refusing to convert to Islam.
The canonisation of the first saint of the millennial generation, Carlo Acutis, had been due to take place this Sunday but was suspended due to the pope’s death. Acutis was born in Italy but died from leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15.
‘May God welcome him to eternal peace’
The mass is nearly over, with just a few more rites lefts. Cardinal Battista Re has declared the final commendation and farewell to Pope Francis.
He said: “Dear brothers and sisters, let us commend to God’s tender mercy the soul of Pope Francis, Bishop of the Catholic Church, who confirmed his brothers and sisters in the faith of the resurrection.
“Let us pray to God our Father through Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit; may he deliver him from death, welcome him to eternal peace and raise him up on the last day.
“Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles and Protectress of the Roman people, may God reveal to our Pope the face of his beloved Son and console the Church with the light of the resurrection.”
Order of service
Priests deliver communion
The priests are now handing out communion to the crowds, which will take about 20 to 30 minutes.
Afterwards, the final commendation of the soul of Pope Francis to heaven will begin. It will include prayers to around 100 saints of the Church.
Later, the leaders of the Eastern Catholic Churches — autonomous churches that are in communion with the Roman Catholic church — will sing prayers from their own rites in Greek.
After the Mass ends, the coffin bearing the body of Pope Francis will process through the streets of Rome to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he will be laid to rest.
Communion offered to crowds of mourners
Several hundred priests have been dispersed throughout the large crowd in St Peter’s Square, in order to deliver communion — the bread and wine — to the masses. It is estimated that about 40,000 people are in the square.
Although in the 16th century the Vatican was self-sufficient when it came to wine production, in recent centuries it began to rely more on importing wine.
Today, the Sicilian winemaking company Pellegrino is one of the primary suppliers of communion wine to the Vatican, made according to strict standards, including the use of stainless steel barrels for the aging process.
Each year, the residents of Vatican State consume an average of 74 litres of wine per person, although this includes the wine handed out at mass.
William sits next to outgoing German chancellor
Cardinal, 91, presides over Mass
Cardinal Battista Re, 91, is the Dean of the College of Cardinals. An Italian, Re is presiding over this funeral mass and will be responsible for overseeing the upcoming election of the next pope.
In the 2024 Oscar-winning film Conclave, based on the book by Robert Harris, Ralph Fiennes played the Dean of the College, Cardinal Lawrence.
In 2005, Re was considered a top contender to replace John Paul II as pope, but ultimately lost to Joseph Ratzinger, who became Benedict XVI. He has held numerous Vatican posts over the years, including as head of the Congregation of Bishops.
Re was made dean in 2020, and although he was due to step down in February, he was reconfirmed in the post by Francis earlier this year. In history, nine deans have become pope, including Ratzinger.
Liturgy of the Eucharist takes place
The mass has now moved onto the most sacred moment — the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This is where bread and wine is brought onto the altar and according to the Catholic traditions transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ through a process called transubstantiation.
Cardinal Battista Re will wash his hands and invite people to pray that their sacrifices will be acceptable to God.
The moment recalls the Last Supper, where Jesus broke bread and wine and told his apostles: “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”
Prayers in French, Arabic, Polish, Chinese and Italian
The homily has finished and the Mass has moved on to more prayers. It includes the Universal Prayer for the faithful, and several prayers read out in various languages.
The languages chosen are French, Arabic, Portuguese, Polish, German, Chinese and Italian. They are read out by lay members of the Catholic church.
The first prayer, spoken in French, is for the soul of the late Pope Francis: “That the Chief Shepherd, who eternally lives to intercede for us, may welcome him into his kingdom of light and peace.”
‘We ask that from heaven you may bless the Church’
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, has concluded his homily reflecting on the life of Pope Francis.
“Pope Francis used to conclude his speeches and meetings by saying, ‘Do not forget to pray for me.’ Now, dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us”, he said.
“And we ask you that from heaven you may bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica in a final embrace with all the people of God, but also embrace humanity that seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds high the torch of hope.”
Cardinal appears to rebuke President Trump
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re has appeared to criticise Donald Trump in his homily recalling the life of Pope Francis.
“’Build bridges, not walls’ was an exhortation [Francis] repeated many times,” he said. “And his service of faith as successor of the apostle Peter always was linked to the service of humanity in all its dimensions.”
Francis previously denounced the US president’s immigration policies, and his plans to build a wall along the border with Mexico. “A person who only thinks about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” the late pontiff said while visiting Mexico in 2016.
Re also mentioned the celebration of Mass on the border between Mexico and the US, earning applause from the crowd.
President Trump is in the front row, along with the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, and President Macron.
Tribute to late pope’s ‘pastoral plan and style’
The cardinal is now reflecting on the life of the late pope, who was born Jorge Bergoglio to Italian immigrants in Argentina.
“When Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Conclave on 13 March 2013 to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, he already had many years of experience in religious life in the Society of Jesus and, above all, was enriched by twenty-one years of pastoral ministry in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, first as auxiliary, then as coadjutor and, above all, as archbishop,” he said.
“The decision to take the name Francis immediately appeared to indicate the pastoral plan and style on which he wanted to base his pontificate, seeking inspiration from the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi. He maintained his temperament and form of pastoral leadership, and through his resolute personality, immediately made his mark on the governance of the Church.”
‘We entrust the soul of our beloved Pontiff to God’
Cardinal Battista Re has thanked the gathered delegates and heads of state from the various countries who arrived in Rome last night and this morning.
“The final image we have of him, which will remain etched in our memory, is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessing from the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica. He then came down to this square to greet the large crowd gathered for the Easter Mass while riding in the open-top Popemobile,” said the cardinal.
“With our prayers, we now entrust the soul of our beloved Pontiff to God, that he may grant him eternal happiness in the bright and glorious gaze of his immense love.”
‘We are gathered with sad hearts’
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re has now begun his homily, where is recalling the life of Pope Francis.
“In this majestic St Peter’s Square, where Pope Francis celebrated the Eucharist so many times and presided over great gatherings over the past 12 years, we are gathered with sad hearts in prayer around his mortal remains,” said Cardinal Battisa Re, in Italian.
“Yet, we are sustained by the certainty of faith, which assures us that human existence does not end in the tomb, but in the Father’s house, in a life of happiness that will know no end.”
Gospel is read to mourners
A deacon is now reading from the Gospel, a set of four ancient biographies of Jesus Christ written by his disciples and apostles, the saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
This reading has been chosen from the Gospel according to John. It outlines a conversation between Jesus and St Peter, who later became the first pope, during the Last Supper.
“‘When you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God”.
St Peter would later be crucified upside down in Rome by Emperor Nero, around the year 64 AD. The crucifixion took place on Vatican Hill, the future location of the Vatican and St Peter’s Basilica.
Reading from St Paul to the Philippians
The second bible reading is from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians, which is being read out in Spanish.
St Paul the Apostle was not one of the original twelve, and did not know Jesus during his lifetime. He is notable for participating in the persecution of the early disciples of Jesus, but was converted to Christianity after being blinded on the road to Damascus.
His letters to the Philippians were addressed to the Christian community he set up in Philippi, a Greek city in modern day Macedonia, and was penned while he was in a Roman prison.
The reading sets out what happens after death. “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body”.
First Bible reading in English
The first Bible reading at the funeral of Pope Francis is from the Acts of the Apostles. It is one of the few parts of this mass which will be spoken in English. It is being read by Kielce Gussie, a journalist working for the Vatican’s news service.
The reading provides a short outline of the life and death of Jesus Christ, as told by St Peter the apostle, who is widely considered to be the first pope.
“In those days, Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,” the reading said. “And [Jesus] commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God”.
Latin prayer marks start of the funeral
The funeral of Pope Francis has begun with a prayer in Latin, called the penitential act.
It starts: “Brethren, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.”
The celebrant, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, then made the sign of the cross, indicating that the formal mass has started.
The hymn, Kyrie eleison — which means Lord have mercy — is being sung in Latin by the choir.
Funeral mass amid splendour of St Peter’s Square
Although Pope Francis will be buried in the basilica of St Maria Maggiore, on the Esquiline hill, his funeral mass is taking place in St Peter’s Square.
The square is named for St Peter the apostle, who died about AD68 and is considered to be the first pope. It is located in the centre of Vatican City, and was designed by the great Italian sculptor Bernini.
Behind the altar to the northwest is the Sistine Chapel, with a ceiling fresco painted by Michaelangelo depicting the creation of Adam. It is here that the cardinals will gather to choose the next pontiff.
Adjoining the square on the north is the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope, although Francis himself chose not to live there. When the next pope is chosen, he will give his first address from the top-floor window of the Apostolic Palace, called the Angelus Window.
Pope’s coffin carried out of the basilica
The Pope’s coffin has been carried out of the basilica by 14 white gloved pall bearers. It is a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc, one of several breaks with tradition that we will see today.
In the past a pope’s body has been placed in a nesting stack of three coffins. The first was a cypress coffin symbolising humility and mortality, followed by a lead coffin to preserve the remains. Finally, there was an oak coffin, reflecting strength and security.
The triple-layered coffin was scrapped in 2024, after Pope Francis approved reforms to the funerary rites in a document called the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis. The decree also allowed again for popes to be buried outside St Peter’s Basilica.
The coffin is placed on the ground in front of the altar, without any special stand, following a tradition of humility set by Pope Paul VI, who reigned from 1963 to 1978. A book of the Gospels is placed open in the lid of the coffin.
Zelensky applauded by crowd at St Peter’s
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has just arrived in St Peter’s Square, where he was greeted with a round of applause from the crowd.
Zelensky, who is at the funeral today with his wife Olena Zelenska, reportedly met the US president Donald Trump earlier today. The pair have also agreed to meet again after the funeral.
Earlier today, Trump told the media that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is “very close” with “most of the major points agreed”.
William arrives at Vatican
The Prince of Wales is attending the funeral of Pope Francis, on behalf of the King. Prince William, who never met the late Pope, is representing his father in Rome in keeping with modern tradition and government advice. British monarchs rarely, if ever, attend international funerals.
In 2005, the then Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. It meant his wedding to the then Camilla Parker-Bowles, was postponed with four days notice, moving from April 8 to April 9, because the original date of April 8 clashed with the funeral.
William travelled to Rome on the King’s flight and will be seated with other royals attending the funeral service, including King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium and Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway.
Leaders arrive at St Peter’s
Trump and the first lady file past coffin
President Trump and his wife, Melania, were allowed inside St Peter’s Basilica for a moment in front of the coffin of Pope Francis ahead of this morning’s funeral.
The late pope had a fiery relationship with Trump, who criticised the president’s immigration policies. In 2016, Francis spoke out against his plans to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
“A person who only thinks about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” said Francis while visiting Mexico.
When the pope died earlier this week, Trump said Francis was a “good man” who “worked hard and loved the world.”
Warships, troops and fighter jets secure funeral
With more than 130 of the world’s most senior politicians and dignitaries attending the funeral today, the level of security will be unlike anything seen in living memory.
Around 4,000 police officers will be deployed for the funeral, with reinforcements arriving from around Italy.
Sharpshooters will be deployed on top of buildings, while dog units and bomb disposal squads will patrol the grounds. River police will patrol the Tiber, and fire brigade units will be prepared to counter nuclear, bacterial and chemical threats.
An Italian navy destroyer will be moored near Rome, while Eurofighter jets from the Italian air force will enforce a no-fly zone.
Soldiers equipped with anti-drone bazookas will also be on alert, and communication jamming devices will be prepared in the event that unauthorised aircraft are sighted.
The delicate diplomacy of the seating plan
The order in which world leaders sit will constitute a game of diplomatic musical chairs thanks to the Vatican’s practice of placing politicians at events alphabetically by the name of their country in French.
That puts the États-Unis (the United States) close to Finland while Ukraine is suitably near the Union Européenne.
It means that if President Trump wants to challenge President Macron of France about tariffs, he will have to lean over the president of Finland who, in turn, may want to discuss the threat of Vladimir Putin, who will not be attending.
From Portugal to the Philippines, people throng the Vatican
Since Pope Francis’s death on Monday pilgrims have flooded the city. From Papa New Guinea and Angola, Portugal and Hong Kong, the Philippines and Brazil — everyone from every end of the Earth has descended on Vatican City.
Hence the portaloos. An invading army of plastic toilets stands sentinel along the banks of the Tiber, beneath the vaulting arches of Vatican City, in every park and street corner. Practical temporal ballast for this spiritual occasion.
Bidens at the Vatican
The former US president, Joe Biden, and his wife, Jill Biden, have arrived to take their seats in St Peter’s Square.
Although the pontificate of Pope Francis began in 2013, during the tenure of Barack Obama in the White House, a spokesman for the former president said he would not be attending.
A bipartisan delegation of politicians from the House of Representatives will also be attending, including Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat former House speaker.
Cardinals pray over pope’s coffin
On Friday night a private ceremony was held attended by eight senior cardinals including the camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, and the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
This ceremony, called the Rite of Sealing, marked the end of public viewing in St Peter’s Basilica, which has seen almost 100,000 people pay their respects to the late pope.
At the Rite of Sealing, a document is read out in Latin detailing the key moments of the pope’s reign. The document is then placed inside the coffin, alongside other items including a rosary and coins minted during his pontificate.
A white silk cloth is placed over his face and a prayer read out. “May his face, which has lost the light of this world, be forever illuminated by the true light whose inexhaustible source is in you,” the prayer reads.
The coffin is then sealed in wax.
Zelensky among world leaders in Rome
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is reportedly in Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral following doubts he would fly in.
The British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, arrived last night, in time for a meeting with the Italian prime minister at her office.
The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, also called in to see Meloni ahead of the funeral, while President Macron dined at famed Rome restaurant Dal Bolognese.
President Trump arrived after 10pm and slept at Villa Taverna, the Rome residence of the US ambassador which is located in the leafy, well to do Parioli district where residents traditionally fume about the jamming of phone signals and the denial of parking spaces when presidents arrive.
He is expected to travel straight from the funeral to the airport to fly back to the US, ruling out meetings in Rome with other leaders, although he may have time at the end of the funeral to chat at the church.
Apart from world leaders, relatives of Pope Francis will also reportedly be seated near the coffin, including a nephew from Buenos Aires whose flight to Rome was paid for by a generous travel agent.
A river of humanity from around the world
The Via della Conciliazione has this morning transformed from a street into a seemingly endless river of humanity. Thousands of mourners, pilgrims and bearded men in Argentine football shirts are walking, running, and trotting into St Peter’s Square. In two minutes queue watching groups from El Salvador, China, and the Congo rush past.
It’s all a bit overwhelming for Blanca, a 47 year old Mexican who brought her family to Rome earlier this week for a holiday. “It’s madness, it’s overwhelming.” Most of her family had never been abroad before. “Now they are seeing the whole world.”
Homeless will be invited to ceremony
St Peter’s Square was filling up by 7am this morning, three hours before the start of Pope Francis’ funeral, as hundreds of police officers, civil protection workers and volunteers steered visitors around the narrow streets near the square.
Police tried politely to eject homeless people from their regular sleeping spots under the colonnade that surround the square where they slept with the full approval of Pope Francis who ordered showers to be set up for them nearby.
Some of those homeless people used to bedding down there and in the streets around Vatican will be invited to the funeral today along with migrants flown to Italy from a camp in Greece in 2016 and others who were rescued from sinking boats in the Mediterranean.
Alongside the funeral goers arriving early, some of the 2,700 journalists accredited to cover the funeral were lining up to ascend to a terrace on top of the colonnade commanding a view over the VIP seating – a great spot to keep an eye on fidgety monarchs or whispering politicians.
Who’s attending the Pope’s funeral?
Dignitaries and religious leaders from around the world are expected to be on the steps of the basilica, alongside an estimated 50,000 mourners in St Peter’s Square.
Sir Keir Starmer and the Prince of Wales are expected to attend as the British delegation. European leaders including President Macron of France, Olaf Scholz of Germany and President Zelensky of Ukraine will also attend.
President Trump, who was criticised by the late pontiff over his policies on immigration,- will be there with his wife Melania. President Milei of Argentina, where Francis was from, is expected to be there.
When Pope John Paul II died in 2005, the other major branches of Christianity were represented by Rowan Williams, who was Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bartholomew I, head of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The procession route, from St Peter’s to final resting place
What happens when?
Over the course of the next two hours about 220 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests will arrive, along with more than 100 senior political and religious leaders from around the world.
The funeral Mass begins at 9am British time when the late Pope’s coffin is carried to the steps outside St Peter’s Basilica, where more than 130,000 people have filed past during three days of public mourning. Prayers and readings will then take place, mostly in Latin. A sermon will be delivered by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals.
Mass will continue with more prayers and the blessing of the eucharist — the bread and wine that is transformed into the body and blood of Christ according to Catholic tradition.
Later, the coffin will be processed to the basilica of St Mary Major on the Esquiline hill of Rome, where it will be interred.
Crowds gather after private ceremony
Hundreds of dignitaries and religious leaders are gathering in Rome to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, who died aged 88 on Monday after a stroke.
Last night a private ceremony was held, attended by eight senior cardinals. During this liturgy, the late Pope’s face was covered with a white silk veil and his body sprinkled with holy water.
Items placed in the coffin included a rosary and a document listing the key moments of his 12-year papacy.
The funeral Mass will begin at 9am British time and will be broadcast around the world. Tens of thousands of faithful are expected to attend. The service will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals.
