Crowds gathering for funeral of popular pontiff Pope Francis
US President Donald Trump will join other world leaders and dignitaries at the requiem mass.
Huge crowds of the Catholic faithful are gathering for a final farewell to their much-loved leader Pope Francis, alongside a host of world leaders and dignitaries.
Vast numbers are expected in Vatican City for the 88-year-old’s funeral on Saturday, amid a tight security operation.
US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Prince of Wales are among attendees at the requiem mass in St Peter’s Square for a religious leader dubbed the people’s pope due to his focus on the most in need in society.
Others include French President Emmanuel Macron, former US president Joe Biden and Irish President Michael D Higgins, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has cast doubt on whether he will be able to attend.
Some 250,000 mourners paid their respects to Pope Francis over a three-day lying-in-state, which ran overnight from Wednesday due to high demand.
The final mourners had a chance to see the Pope close up in the grand surrounds of St Peter’s Basilica, before his coffin was closed in private on Friday evening.
A seating order was published on the eve of the funeral, showing Francis’s birth country of Argentina, then Italy, take precedence.
Thereafter, leaders are seated “in alphabetical order” in French – considered the language of diplomacy.
Ireland’s delegation comes ahead of both Prince William and the British Government delegation in the official order of precedence, because it is led by head of state Mr Higgins.
Haakon, the Crown Prince of Norway, and William follow soon after in a category set aside for crown princes.
The British Government delegation includes Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, as well as Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
President Trump and his wife First Lady Melania are seated ahead of both the Irish and British delegations.
Scaffolding has been erected to provide international media with the best vantage points overlooking St Peter’s Square while there is a strong Italian police presence managing numbers and security.
Following the 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.
During the journey, crowds will have their chance to catch a glimpse of a pontiff who proved popular with many during his 12-year papacy.
The Vatican said a group of “poor and needy” people will be present on the steps leading to the basilica to pay their last respects before the interment of the coffin, in a nod to Francis’s particular care for the downtrodden.
While Saturday is the first of nine official days of mourning, speculation regarding the next pope is likely to begin soon after the funeral.
Conclave, the secret meeting of cardinals to elect Francis’s successor, is thought likely to begin on May 5.
One Vatican expert has said she thinks it is “totally unpredictable” at this point as to who the next pope might be.
UK theologian Professor Anna Rowlands said: “That’s partly because the process is genuinely both secret, so it happens in private, but also because the make-up of this College of Cardinals is very different from anyone that’s been here to elect a pope before.
“It’s going to be, I think, a surprise conclave, that is totally unpredictable at this point, but I think will produce, potentially, a really interesting candidate who possibly none of us will know.”
Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell – the camerlengo or senior Vatican official – has been responsible for carrying out the administrative and financial duties of the Holy See until a new pope takes over.
He had the role of announcing the Pope’s death on Easter Monday, co-ordinating meetings with the cardinals ahead of conclave and ensuring the Sistine Chapel is ready to accommodate them when that process begins in the coming weeks.
The sign of a new pope having been elected will be the emergence of white smoke from a chimney of the Sistine chapel while, soon after, an announcement in Latin of “Habemus Papam” – meaning “we have a pope” is made alongside the chosen pontiff’s appearance on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
