A large array of world leaders, cardinals and hundreds of thousands of worshippers are expected to attend Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday.
It is set to start at 9am UK time in St Peter’s Square after a three-day-period of lying in state where the public can pay tribute to the Pope.
The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, will lead the service.
Pope Francis, 88, died following a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, the Vatican announced.
The pope was hospitalised for several weeks in February, after suffering from double pneumonia. He returned to the Vatican in mid-March to recover.
The first pope from Latin America, Pope Francis led the 1.4 billion-member church since 2013.
Here’s who we know is coming so far:
Royal Families
- UK Prince of Wales – on behalf of the King
- Belgium King Philippe and Queen Mathilde
- Spain King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain
World leaders
- EU President Ursula von der Leyen
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- Switzerland President Karin Keller-Sutter
- Poland President Andrzej Duda
- Germany President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Italy President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
- Latvia President Edgars Rinkevics
- Lithuania President Gitanas Nauseda
- Romania Interim President Ilie Bolojan
- French President Emmanuel Macron
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky
- Argentina President Javier Milei
- US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump
- Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and first lady Janja Lula da Silva
- East Timor – President Jose Ramos-Horta, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Bendito Freitas
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would not attend the funeral
