People queue on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ coffin, which will be transported inside the Saint Peter’s Basilica. Photograph: Kevin Coombs/ReutersPope Francis’ coffin to be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica to lie in state ahead of funeral. Photograph: Riccardo Antimiani/EPAPeople gather in St. Peter’s Square as they await the arrival of the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St. Peter¥s Basilica. Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP
Morning opening: Lying in state
Jakub Krupa
Pope Francis’s body will be moved to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning where it will lie in state for three days to allow Catholic faithful to pay their final respects ahead of a funeral expected to bring a host of world leaders including Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump.
Priests arrive at St. Peter’s Basilica on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ coffin, which will be transported inside the Basilica. Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters
The ceremony is scheduled to start 9am Rome (8am BST), and will see Francis’s body leave the Santa Maria residence where he lived and move in a procession into St Peter’s Basilica, entering through the main entrance.
The body will lie in state until Friday 7pm local time, when the public mourning will end in preparation for the funeral on Saturday morning.
I will follow the ceremony and the latest reports from the Vatican and elsewhere for you.
It’s Wednesday, 23 April 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
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