Tens of thousands of pilgrims have arrived in Rome to mark the death of Pope Francis
Metres from the Vatican walls, a group of mourners tells the BBC's Mark Lowen the air is thick with emotion
The pontiff's funeral will take place at the Vatican on Saturday morning, with Prince William due to attend alongside dozens of world leaders - who else is going?
Earlier, the Vatican shared images of the Pope in an open coffin alongside further details of the funeral arrangements
On Wednesday, the Pope's body will be moved to St Peter's Basilica for public mourning - how the day will unfold
From Argentina to Nigeria, the Philippines to Rome, here are the latest reflections from our correspondents
The Vatican says it will lead a prayer service in St Peter's Square tonight at 19:30 local time (18:30 BST).
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti will recite the rosary, which is a series of prayers, according to a statement on their X account.
As we've been reporting, large groups have been gathering in the square throughout the day to pay their respects to Pope Francis.
Image source, The VaticanThe website today
The homepage of the Vatican's official website has changed to reflect the death of Pope Francis.
It now reads "Apostolica Sedes Vacans", meaning the seat is vacant in Latin. Yesterday, it had a picture of the Pope and information relating to his leadership.
Currently, 135 cardinals are aged under 80 and eligible under Church law to enter a conclave to elect a pope after Francis dies or retires, with an elaborate selection process held in secrecy in the Vatican.
Image source, The VaticanThe website on Sunday
By Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America digital editor
Image source, Getty ImagesArgentinians gather in Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires while watching live broadcast of installation of Pope Francis
When Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first Pope from Latin America in March 2013, there was jubilation in the streets of Argentina.
Some international media said the celebrations resembled those after a win in a football match, with people waving the Argentine flag and shouting “Francisco!”, the name the newly elected pope had chosen for himself.
The manner of the celebrations was fitting for a man who was himself an avid football fan and who remained loyal to San Lorenzo - the Argentine club he supports - throughout his papacy.
Many in Latin America say they saw him as one of their own, not just because he hailed from the region but also because of his humble background and his warm, approachable nature.
However, while the Catholic Church was at first invigorated by his election, it was not able to escape the trend in recent years which has seen some faithful in Latin America either turn away completely from religion or join evangelical Protestant churches instead.
Image source, Getty ImagesBorn in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis became a passionate follower of one of the oldest football clubs in Argentina, San Lorenzo.
In the last few moments, the club has paid tribute to the Pope who for years was a season ticket holder and never hid the club's colours (even when he became the head of the Catholic Church).
"He was never just one of us, but always one of us," the club says in post on X. "Cuervo as a child and as a man... Cuervo as a priest and Cardinal... Cuervo as Pope too... He always transmitted his passion for Ciclón."
"Wrapped in deep sorrow, from San Lorenzo today we say to Francis: Goodbye, thank you, and farewell! We will be together for eternity!"
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, ReutersAs our South America correspondent reports, gatherings are already taking shape in Buenos Aires as people come together to mourn the loss of Pope Francis.
Speaking to Reuters, Nicola Cordoba says it will "hurt the soul of the people that the Pope has died, honestly. It hurts me like crazy."
He adds that he appreciated the Pope's "words in support" of the gay community.
Agustin Hartridge says he is reacting with "a lot of sadness".
"Yesterday I saw him very poorly and I had faith and hope that he could do it.”
Ione Wells
South America correspondent
Image source, ReutersArgentina’s president, Javier Milei, has declared seven days of national mourning in Pope Francis’s home country, according to his spokesman.
Pope Francis was a source of immense pride for Argentina, where the majority of the population identify as Catholic, and the wider region.
He was the first pope from Latin America.
The Pope's death has already prompted gatherings in the capital Buenos Aires.
His focus on helping the poor and tackling economic inequality resonated in a country that has faced years of economic turmoil. Though, in the past, these views led to a strained relationship with President Milei due to ideological differences.
He provided a strong – and progressive – voice for the Catholic Church in Latin America, home to nearly 40% of the world’s Catholics, at a time when evangelical Protestantism is on the rise in the region.
He was named Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and then became Archbishop.
His supporters saw him as a strong voice for the Southern Hemisphere more widely, drawing attention to global inequality after centuries of European leadership of the Catholic Church.
His critics felt he failed to do enough to oppose Argentina’s brutal military dictatorship, a period where thousands of people were tortured, killed, or forcibly "disappeared" from 1976-1983.
Image source, ReutersAs the United States wakes up to news of Pope Francis's death, US presidents - both current and former - are sharing their tributes.
Image source, Getty ImagesOther senior members of Trump's administration shared their own statements:
Image source, Reuters
Yolande Knell
Reporting from Bethlehem
"He gave us hope," says Roni Tabash in Bethlehem
Palestinian Christians feel they have lost a "great friend" says Anton Salman, mayor of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
"He was one of the few leaders in the world who was supporting Palestinian rights and came running to achieve peace in the region," he tells me.
When the Pope visited the Holy Land in 2014, a defining image was his prayer for peace by the graffitied, concrete wall which blocks Bethlehem from Jerusalem - part of Israel’s West Bank barrier.
He went on to lead thousands of local Christians - part of a dwindling religious minority - in an open-air mass outside the Nativity Church, built on the spot where it is believed Jesus was born.
"It was really a very special day. Even I sang for him," says Roni Tabash, a local souvenir seller who has large pictures of the Pope on the shutters of his store. "He gave us hope, he always told us to have more faith, to resist, to continue, to stay here."
Many Palestinians praise Pope Francis for his regular calls to a priest in Gaza City at the Holy Family Catholic Church, as he checked on the well-being of some of the hundreds of Gazan Christians sheltering on site.
Recently the Pope had been increasingly vocal about Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, calling the situation there "dramatic and deplorable". In his last Easter message he called for a ceasefire, demanding that Hamas release remaining hostages as well as for aid of "starving people that aspires to a future of peace".
Mourners gathered in St Peter's Square - located outside St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican - have been sharing their tributes to the late pontiff with BBC reporter Sofia Bettiza.
"It was refreshing to see a man of his authority showing such care for the environment and the poor," one woman says.
A man adds: "Just yesterday he was here doing the mass. His death was kind of shocking so we decided to come to the Vatican to show respect. He spoke about gay marriage, which is very different from the Pope before."
"The most important thing he left behind" was teaching those inside and outside the Church to realise they could help each other, another man says.
'It was a shock' - visitors react to Pope's death
Pope Francis's body could be moved to St Peter's Basilica as early as Wednesday, according to Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni.
He says a group of cardinals will meet on Wednesday and make a formal decision, but if it goes ahead it would allow people to pay their respects.
Ione Wells
En route to Buenos Aires
Image source, ReutersArgentina’s President Javier Milei has said he feels “profound sorrow” at the death of the Pope.
He said that “despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his kindness and wisdom was a true honour for me”.
Pope Francis did not return to Argentina during his papacy.
President Milei, a staunch libertarian who has introduced sweeping austerity measures, had clashed with the Pope in the past.
He had called the pontiff a socialist and insults including the devil’s representative on earth and an “imbecile”.
However, he softened his tone towards the Pope after taking office and relations improved.
Milei's government has announced seven days of national mourning.
There are an estimated 1.4 billion Catholics around the world and more than a quarter of them are in Latin America alone.
Here are some of the latest pictures we've been seeing as Pope Francis's followers hear the news of his passing.
Image source, EPAA woman in Jakarta, Indonesia, cries as she prays inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption
Image source, ReutersMeanwhile, Buenos Aires, a woman pauses for a moment outside Argentina's Metropolitan Cathedral
Image source, EPAOver in Jerusalem, people have been lighting candles at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Image source, ReutersIn the Philippines people have been praying at the Cubao Cathedral in Quezon City
Image source, PA MediaAnd in London this woman was pictured praying in Westminster Cathedral
Image source, Getty ImagesTrump met the Pope in 2017
United States President Donald Trump has posted a message on his Truth Social platform, marking the death of the Pope.
Quote MessageRest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!"
President Trump
Ian Aikman
Live reporter
Image source, ReutersA large crowd has gathered in front of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican
Tributes have been pouring in for Pope Francis from around the world.
The pontiff had been ill for several weeks, but appeared in public yesterday to give an Easter Sunday blessing in St Peter’s Square.
Yesterday, he also briefly met US Vice-President JD Vance, who shared his condolences this morning.
But if you’re just joining us, here’s what's been happening today:
Pope Francis dies aged 88
The Pope died at his Vatican residence at 07:35 CEST (06:35 BST), the Vatican said in a statement released at about 09:45 CEST.
World leaders pay tribute
There has been a flurry of tributes from global leaders, with King Charles III, the UK's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and a White House statement among a chorus of voices praising his leadership.
Mourners gather in the Vatican
Crowds are gathering outside St Peter's Basilica, in Vatican City, where one BBC reporter saw people crying in the street.
What happens next?
As we've been reporting, the Pope's funeral will be less elaborate than that of previous pontiffs, as he had recently approved plans to make the event much simpler.
Some 135 Catholic cardinals will vote for Pope Francis’s successor in an election – known as a conclave – which is held in secret inside the Sistine Chapel.
Tessa Wong and Virma Simonette
Asia Digital Reporter and Philippines producer
Image source, epaIn the Philippines, there has been a massive outpouring of emotion. Most of its population is Catholic - more than 85 million people - the biggest Catholic population in Asia, and third in the world after Brazil and Mexico.
The president of the Philippine Catholic Church, Cardinal Virgilio David, has asked all the parishes to ring their bells and to pray for Pope Francis. Easter Monday masses have been turned into mourning services.
One artist's image that's quickly gone viral on Philippine social media shows the Pope's zucchetto - his skullcap - hovering above his head and transforming into a halo., external
Many are sharing their memories of the Pope's visit in 2015, particularly to the typhoon-hit area of Tacloban, which was interrupted by storms.
"In sunshine or under the rain, he made us feel the love of God. The rains and our tears of joy were mixed, running down our cheeks," said Socrates B Villegas, the Archbishop of Lingayen and Dagupan.
Image source, ReutersPope Francis watches pallbearers carrying the cypress coffin of former Pope Benedict in 2023
Pope Francis's funeral will look a little different to past ceremonies.
Proceedings will begin with the Vatican's highest-ranking cardinal, Kevin Farrell, presiding over the "rite of the confirmation of death" and placing the Pope's body in a coffin.
A papal funeral has traditionally been an elaborate affair, but Pope Francis recently approved plans to simplify the whole procedure.
The late pontiff opted for a basic wooden coffin, and scrapped the tradition of placing the Pope's body on a raised platform for public viewing.
Instead, mourners will be invited to pay their respects while his body remains inside the coffin, with the lid removed.
Francis will be laid to rest in the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome – the first time a Pope has been buried outside the Vatican in more than a Century.
Image source, Vatican press officeFormer Pope Benedict lying in state
Image source, Getty ImagesCatholics and people of all faiths are saddened today, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa says
More tributes now from world leaders:
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa says Pope Francis had "humility" and a profound commitment to "making the Church and the world a better place".
Meanwhile Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calls the late Pope a "modernist", and says he was "a devoted champion and loving father" for Australian Catholics.
Bangladesh's interim government says Pope Francis was "a towering figure of moral clarity, humility, and compassion".
And Nigerian President Bola Tinubu hails him as a "trenchant voice" for climate action.
Image source, Vatican MediaThe Pope visited a prison in Rome on Holy Thursday
Pope Francis made a number of public appearances after being discharged from hospital, where he had been treated for pneumonia, on 23 March:
Image source, ReutersThe Pope spoke to crowds on Easter Sunday
"We are all really shocked this morning," Maria, a Spanish tourist visiting Rome, tells the BBC.
"It's a bad loss for the Church," she continues, "but we are all really grateful for being here".
Maria says Pope Francis always encouraged young people to embrace the beliefs and values of the Church, which she feels has been very useful for them.
Asked what she believes the pontiff's legacy will be, Maria says: "I will remember the messages and quotes he has taught us."
You can follow more reaction from outside the Vatican by pressing Watch live at the top of this page.
Image source, Getty ImagesPope Francis was the first Pope to visit South Sudan, which became an independent country in 2011
We've been seeing tributes to the late Pope from across Africa, a continent with the world's fastest-growing Catholic population.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed writes on X: "I extend my deepest condolences on the passing of Pope Francis... may his legacy of compassion, humility, and service to humanity continue to inspire generations to come."
Kenyan President William Ruto calls the Pope's passing a "big loss" to the Christian world, and praises Francis's "unwavering commitment to inclusivity and justice".
Since becoming Pope in 2013, Francis made multiple trips to Africa.
Yesterday, in his Easter message, he appealed for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and South Sudan.