Pope Francis’s coffin about to be moved to St Peter’s Basilica for public mourning

Image source, Reuters

Tens of thousands of mourners have been descending on Vatican City over the last two days to pay their respects to Pope Francis, who died of a stroke on Easter Monday aged 88.

Today, the coffin carrying the Pope will be taken from Casa Santa Marta, where he died, to St Peter’s Basilica at 09:00 local time (08:00 BST).

He will then lie in state until his funeral on Saturday, giving mourners a chance to say a final goodbye.

Pope Francis will be buried at St Mary Major Basilica, making him the first pope since Leo XIII, who died in 1903, to be buried outside the Vatican.

Donald Trump, Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky are among world leaders set to attend the the funeral. Kensington Palace also announced that Prince William would travel to the Vatican on behalf of his father, King Charles.

Yesterday, details of the late pontiff’s final moments were shared by the Vatican, with those who were near him describing his death as “discreet”, “without long waits or too much clamouring”.

The Vatican also shared images of the Pope lying in his open coffin in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, which served as his papal residence for 12 years.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as today’s prayers and procession commence, so stay with us.