Summary

  • 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

  • You can watch our coverage live at the top of this page

  • 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

Pope's coffin carried in procession from papal residence

Live Reporting

Edited by Rorey Bosotti, with Laura Gozzi reporting from Vatican City

  1. 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.

    Aerial shot of Pope's coffin being transported into the basilicaReuters
    Closer shot of the coffinReuters
    Shot from behind showing procession entering the basilicaReuters
    Coffin inside the basilicaGetty Images

  2. Hundreds join crowds in the square within the last 30 minutes

    Laura Gozzi
    Reporting from Vatican City

    Crowds observe the passage of Pope Francis's coffin in St Peter's SquareReuters

    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.

    Our previous post had details on when the Basilica will be open for the public to pay respects.

  3. Pope's body is 'as he died', biographer says

    Coffin of Pope Francis lays at the centre of the apse of St Peter's Basilica, two Swiss Guards guarding it from the top, clerics in black vestments stand to the side holding long ceremonial candlesReuters

    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.

  4. Pope's coffin carried into St Peter's Basilica
    Breaking

    Coffin carried into basilicaReuters

    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.

  5. 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.

    Cardinal Walter Brandmuller inside St Peter's Basilica as the Pope's body is being transported to the siteReuters

    Cardinal Walter Brandmuller inside St Peter's Basilica as the Pope's body is being transported to the site

    Cardinal Camillo Ruini arrives at St Peter's Basilica in a wheelchairReuters

    Cardinal Camillo Ruini arrives at St Peter's Basilica

  6. Pope Francis's coffin greeted by applause

    coffin arriving at the squareReuters

    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.

  7. Pope's coffin transported across St Peter's Square

    Laura Gozzi
    Reporting from Vatican City

    A steady stream of white-clad priests at the end of this roped area signals that the Pope’s coffin is being transported across the square now, to the basilica.

    Vatican guards are standing at attention.

    Pope Francis's coffin is being shown on the giant screens set up around the square.

    Cardinals are also streaming in, all dressed in red.

    Priests arriving at the squareLaura Gozzi/ BBC
    Priests arriving at the squareLaura Gozzi/ BBC
    Screen showing pope's coffinLaura Gozzi/ BBC

  8. Church bells ringing solemnly as Pope Francis's coffin approaches

    Laura Gozzi
    Reporting from Vatican City

    Front of St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City as Pope's coffin approaches, worshippers stand in frontLaura Gozzi/ BBC

    I’m on a sunlit St Peter’s Square, where the church bells are ringing solemnly as a giant screen shows the Pope’s coffin being transported from Casa Santa Marta, where he died, to the the basilica where people will be able to come pay their respects over the next few days.

    Hymns are being played out on giant speakers, adding to the atmosphere of this centuries-old square which today more than any other day feels like the centre of the Catholic world.

  9. Procession begins towards St Peter's Basilica

    Cardinals, dressed in red, walk in pairs as part of the procession. The crowds can be seen in the foreground partly blurredReuters

    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.

  10. 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.

    Swiss guards march in processionReuters
    Swiss Guards line up at the squareReuters

  11. Ceremony under way as crowds gather near St Peter's Basilica

    The ceremony beings for the procession of Pope Francis' body. Men stand wearing religious gowns, one reads from a red book

    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.

    You can follow along by clicking Watch live at the top of the page.

  12. St Peter's Square slowly filling with worshippers

    Reda El-Mawy
    BBC World Service, reporting from the Vatican

    Press members wait on a side terrace overlooking the main steps of St Peter's BasilicaReda El-Mawy/ BBC

    I'm standing with 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.

    From our elevated position, we have a clear view of the balcony where, just three days ago, the late Pope made his final public appearance, offering Easter greetings to the crowd below.

    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.

  13. Latest images in Vatican City ahead of Pope Francis' body being transported

    Crowds are gathering at St Peter's Square and the surrounding areas ahead of the procession from Casa Santa Marta to the basilica.

    Here are some of the latest images.

    An overhead shot of crowds gathering in squares cordoned off in St Peter's SquareReuters

    Crowds gather in St Peter's Square

    A view from inside St Peter's Basilica where seats are laid out and altar servers can be seen making preparationsReuters

    A view inside St Peter's Basilica

    Crowds of people queue behind metal railingsReuters

    The queue gets bigger ahead of Pope Francis' body being moved

    Three nuns dressed in grey habits walking together

    Nuns and priests are among those who have travelled to Vatican City to pay their respects

  14. Italian president among the first to pay respects yesterday

    Sergio Mattarella stands in the corner of the frame with his back to the camera. Pope Francis lies in an open casket at the centre of the room. Two Swiss Guards stand either side of him.Vatican Media/Simone Risoluti/Handout via Reuters

    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.

  15. Cardinal Kevin Farrell to lead a prayer before Pope Francis is moved

    Pope Francis speaks to a microphone as Cardinal Kevin Joseph sits next to him and looks at himGetty Images

    Pope Francis and Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell at a mass in Lisbon in 2023

    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."

  16. Public start to enter St Peter's Square

    A queue of people walking into the square, the colonnade visible in the background as they walk up in between metal barriersReuters

    We're now seeing that the public is being allowed to enter St Peter's Square ahead of the arrival of Pope Francis's body later in the morning.

    The procession from his residence at Casa Santa Marta is expected to start at 09:00 local time (08:00 BST).

  17. When can the public pay respects to Pope Francis?

    Swiss Guard in orange and blue uniform moves a metal barrier, a colleague placing another behind himEPA

    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.

  18. Prayers and a procession: How today will unfold

    The Pope lays in a wooden coffin dressed in red, with rosary beads draped across his hands, and guards either sidePA Media

    The Pope will be moved from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, his former residence

    Pope Francis's body will be moved to St Peter's Basilica today, where he will lie in state.

    Here's more detail on how we expect the day to go:

    • Cardinal Kevin Farrell will lead a prayer before Pope Francis's body is moved
    • At 09:00 local time (08:00 BST), the coffin carrying the Pope will be taken from Casa Santa Marta to St Peter's Basilica
    • A procession will pass through the Piazza Santa Marta and Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani before entering St Peter's Basilica
    • Cardinal Farrell will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, which consists mostly of readings from the Bible
    • The Pope's coffin will remain there for the public to pay their respects until his funeral on Saturday

  19. Crowds queue up outside Vatican ahead of the Pope being moved to lie in state

    People have been gathering by St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican since the early hours of the morning.

    As a reminder, Pope Francis's body is set to be transported to the Basilica in the next few hours.

    Three priests dressed in white gowns walk towards St. Peter's BasilicaReuters

    Priests arrive at St Peter's Basilica on the day the Pope's body is set to be moved there

    A crowd gathers behind a barrier. Two nuns can be seen among those waiting in the right hand cornerReuters

    Crowds began gathering by the Basilica in the early hours this morning

    Three Swiss guards stand in blue, orange and red uniforms with a man dressed in blackReuters

    Swiss Guards, whose role is to protect the Pope, stand in St Peter's Square

  20. Mourners gather ahead of procession carrying Pope to St Peter's Basilica

    People wait behind a metal barricade on the pavement next to a pink building before the laying in state of Pope FrancisReuters

    Tens of thousands of mourners have been descending on Vatican City over the last two days to pay their respects to Pope Francis, who died of a stroke on Easter Monday aged 88.

    Today, the coffin carrying the Pope will be taken from Casa Santa Marta, where he died, to St Peter's Basilica at 09:00 local time (08:00 BST).

    He will then lie in state until his funeral on Saturday, giving mourners a chance to say a final goodbye.

    Pope Francis will be buried at St Mary Major Basilica, making him the first pope since Leo XIII, who died in 1903, to be buried outside the Vatican.

    Donald Trump, Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky are among world leaders set to attend the the funeral. Kensington Palace also announced that Prince William would travel to the Vatican on behalf of his father, King Charles.

    Yesterday, details of the late pontiff's final moments were shared by the Vatican, with those who were near him describing his death as "discreet", "without long waits or too much clamouring".

    The Vatican also shared images of the Pope lying in his open coffin in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, which served as his papal residence for 12 years.

    We'll be bringing you all the latest developments as today's prayers and procession commence, so stay with us.