In pictures: Pope transported to St Peter’s Square in solemn procession
The Pope’s coffin is now inside St Peter’s Basilica and there it will remain lying in state until the funeral on 26 April.
The procession lasted a little under 40 minutes, and saw the body being moved from Casa Santa Marta, where Francis died on Monday, through St Peter’s Square and the crowds of worshippers waiting to pay their final respects.
Hundreds join crowds in the square within the last 30 minutes
In the last half hour the square has filled up a lot – hundreds of people have come in and are watching the images from inside the basilica on the giant screen outside.
Many will undoubtedly now flock inside St Peter’s to see the pope’s body from much closer.
Pope’s body is ‘as he died’, biographer says
Pope Francis’s body is now inside St Peter’s Basilica, where he will be lying in state until his funeral on Saturday.
Austen Ivereigh, Pope Francis’s biographer, tells BBC News that coins minted during his pontificate – one for each year of his tenure – will have been placed in a bag in the coffin.
The bodies of popes used to be embalmed in the past, but that’s not mandatory nowadays, Ivereigh explains.
The biographer says something will have been done to the Pope’s body to help delay the process of decomposition, but other than that “he is as he died”.
Yesterday, the Vatican released several photographs of the Pope lying in an open coffin in his former residence, the BBC looked at the symbolism on show in the images.
Pope’s coffin carried into St Peter’s Basilica
The body of Pope Francis has now entered St Peter’s Basilica after being carried across St Peter’s Square.
There will be a prayer service before the public is allowed to enter to pay their final respects to the late pontiff.
Elderly cardinals waiting in St Peter’s Basilica
As the procession reaches its final stages, we’re getting pictures of some elderly cardinals already inside St Peter’s Basilica waiting for Pope Francis’s coffin to be placed inside.
Pope Francis’s coffin greeted by applause
The procession from Pope Francis’s residence at Casa Santa Marta is approaching its close as the late pontiff’s body has arrived at St Peter’s Square.
As the coffin passed, worshippers waiting to pay their final respects applauded. Our correspondent Laura Gozzi, who’s in the square, tells us St Peter’s bells are still ringing.
The body will now be taken inside St Peter’s Basilica and a service will be held before the public is allowed to enter to say a final goodbye.
Pope’s coffin transported across St Peter’s Square
Church bells ringing solemnly as Pope Francis’s coffin approaches
Procession begins towards St Peter’s Basilica
After that blessing and prayer, the procession begins towards Saint Peter’s Basilica.
It is being led by Camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who Pope Francis nominated for the role in 2019.
As camerlengo, Cardinal Farrell will be tasked with making arrangements for the conclave, the process through which the next pontiff is selected.
Swiss Guards march into St Peter’s Square
Swiss Guards, whose role is to protect the Pope, have marched into St Peter’s Square and are lined up at its centre in preparation for the arrival of Francis’s coffin.
Ceremony under way as crowds gather near St Peter’s Basilica
The ceremony which will see a procession transporting Pope Francis’s body from Casa Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica has begun.
As a reminder, the procession will pass through the Piazza Santa Marta and Piazza dei Protomartiri – with the Basilica open for the public to pay respects from 11:00 local time.
Crowds have been waiting since the early hours of the morning.
St Peter’s Square slowly filling with worshippers
A group of journalists on a platform just to the side of St Peter’s Basilica, where the coffin of Pope Francis will shortly arrive.
This morning, in a relatively modest open coffin, Francis will be brought back to one of the holiest sites in Catholicism for the last time.
St Peter’s Square, glistening in the sunshine beneath us, is slowly filling with worshippers. Later, they will have the chance to file past his coffin inside the basilica to pay their respects, before Francis is transported to his final resting place on Saturday.
Italian president among the first to pay respects yesterday
Yesterday, Italian President Sergio Mattarella paid his respects to Pope Francis in person in the Santa Marta residence at the Vatican.
In a statement released on Monday, Mattarella said: “I learned with great personal sorrow the news of the death of Pope Francis, feeling the serious void that is created with the loss of the point of reference that he has always represented for me,” adding that his teaching leant on international cooperation and peace among other topics.
The Vatican is surrounded by the city of Rome, with the Vatican City State designated in 1929 when the Lateran Treaty was signed by the then-Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See.
The treaty enshrined three sections – politically it designated the area as its own state, but there was also a financial section and a concordat which set out the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Italian state.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell to lead a prayer before Pope Francis is moved
The Vatican has published a booklet with the details of today’s service, which will take place ahead of the procession that will carry Pope Francis’s body from his residence at Casa Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell will lead a prayer before the body is moved.
“Dear brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow, we now accompany the mortal remains of our Pope Francis to the Vatican Basilica,” he will say at the start of the service.
“As we now leave his home, let us thank the Lord for the countless gifts that he bestowed on the Christian people through his servant, Pope Francis.
“Let us ask him, in his mercy and kindness, to grant the late Pope an eternal home in the kingdom of heaven, and to comfort with celestial hope the papal family, the Church in Rome and the faithful throughout the world.”
Public starts to enter St Peter’s Square
When can the public pay respects to Pope Francis?published at 06:1406:14
As we’ve been reporting, Pope Francis’ body will be moved to St Peter’s Basilica this morning where he will lie in state.
Following the transfer ceremony, members of the public will be able to pay their respects in the days leading up to the funeral on Saturday.
The Basilica will be open at the following times:
- Wednesday 23 April – from 11:00 to 24:00 local time
- Thursday 24 April – from 07:00 to 24:00 local time
- Friday 25 April – from 07:00 to 19:00 local time
Masses will continue to take place at various times throughout the day.
- Pope Francis’s body has been moved from his residence at the Vatican to lie in state at St Peter’s Basilica
- There was applause from the crowds as the procession made its way through St Peter’s Square
- The public will be allowed to file past the open coffin from 10:00 BST (11:00 local time)
- The Pope died on Monday morning – his funeral will take place on Saturday, attended by leaders from around the world
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
