Heads of state from around the world are gathering in the Vatican for Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday.
The pontiff will be laid to rest following a funeral service in St Peter’s Square, which begins at 10am local time (9am BST).
The outdoor service, led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the college of cardinals, is attended by dignitaries from 170 foreign delegations, as well as tens of thousands of ordinary people wanting to pay their respects.
Getty ImagesThe coffin of Pope Francis has been brought out from St Peter’s Basilica into St Peter’s Square.
The simple wooden casket with a large cross on the top was carried outside by around a dozen men and placed on a platform in front of attendees.
Among those attending are First Minister John Swinney, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump, the Prince of Wales on behalf of the King, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Irish premier Micheal Martin and the nation’s President Michael D Higgins.
Among those attending from Latin America are the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Javier Milei – the president of Francis’s native Argentina.
The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, will not attend but will be represented by the country’s interior minister, Rosa Icela Rodríguez.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the president of the Philippines, which has one of the world’s largest Catholic populations, will also be in Rome.
Getty ImagesSir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria have been shown to their seats in St Peter’s Square before the funeral of Pope Francis.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy accompanied the couple.
The Prince of Wales has paid his respects on behalf of the King.
William, side by side with Prime Minister Starmer, stood for a moment’s silence in front of Pope Francis’s sealed wooden and zinc coffin in its place before the altar.
The prince, with his hands clasped, solemnly bowed his head as he stood in reflection ahead of the funeral mass.
US President Trump and his wife first lady Melania stopped in front of the Pope’s coffin to pay their respects.
A group of young women from Scotland have told how they travelled to Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral to “celebrate a great leader”.
Claire, Erin and Maria – from Kirkintilloch near Glasgow – spoke to the BBC as crowds gathered for the funeral.
Claire said: “We were able to come here, we wanted to come here.
“Although it’s a sad day for the Catholic Church, it’s a day where we can celebrate a great leader, so we want to be part of it.”
Erin said: “Although it’s sad, it’s great to be able to celebrate how great a pope he was.”
She added: “As a young person, I think he really spoke to the youth.”
Following Saturday’s open-air funeral in the square, Francis’s remains will be taken through the streets of Rome in another break with tradition, as his body is brought to a simple underground tomb in the basilica of Saint Mary Major, as per his instructions.
The leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said organisers of what will be an enormous gathering of well-known names “are geniuses at dealing with these big events”.
In an interview with the PA news agency in Rome, the Archbishop of Westminster said the funeral will be “without a doubt another masterpiece of stage management when you consider those state leaders who have high opinions of their importance”.
He added: “In the past, I’ve seen it here over and over again that the combination of Rome and the Holy See, they actually are geniuses at dealing with these big events.
“I think they’ve been doing it since the emperors ruled Rome – that they know how to deal with big egos.
“And I think every leader of a nation that comes here on Saturday will go home reasonably content.”
Cardinal Nichols has described recent days since the Pope’s death on Easter Monday as “deeply emotional”. He told how “moving” it was to sit in the basilica and watch as others solemnly filed past the coffin this week.
More than 22,000 mourners have viewed the body of the 88-year-old pontiff, who died on Easter Monday.
He has been remembered by some as the “people’s pope”, having spoken out for the poor and those in need and shunned many of the extravagances that come with papal life.
Francis died following a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.
His death came after his five-week hospital stay in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, following a 38-day struggle with pneumonia in March.
The funeral of Pope Francis is available to watch live on STV Player
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