The body of Pope Francis is being taken from Casa Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica, where he will lie in state until his funeral on Saturday.

The procession, which has now begun, will see the pope’s coffin carried through the Piazza Santa Marta and Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani before entering the Basilica.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell led the prayer ahead of the pontiff’s coffin being moved.

“Dear brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow, we now accompany the mortal remains of our Pope Francis to the Vatican Basilica,” he said at the start of the service. “As we now leave this home, let us thank the Lord for the countless gifts that he bestowed on the Christian people through his servant.”

Tens of thousands of mourners have descended on the Vatican over the last few days to pay their respects to the late pontiff.

Crowds have been gathering by St Peter’s Basilica since the early hours of the morning, and have begun to enter St Peter’s Square ahead of the arrival of the pope’s body.

Read more here: www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/23/pope-fra…

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