Pope Francis's body is lying in state in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican
Crowds of mourners have been slowly filing past the coffin, which will sit in front of the Papal Altar until his funeral on Saturday
See what the mourners are experiencing inside the iconic Cathedral here
You can watch mourners pay their respects by pressing watch live above
Watch the funeral on Saturday live here on the BBC website with coverage starting from 06:00BST (07:00GMT)
Thousands gather for final hours of Pope's lying in state
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.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
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.
Reda El-Mawy
BBC World Service, reporting from the Vatican
Image source, Reda El-Mawy/ BBCI'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.
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.
Image source, ReutersCrowds gather in St Peter's Square
Image source, ReutersA view inside St Peter's Basilica
Image source, ReutersThe queue grows as people wait for Pope Francis's body to be moved
Nuns and priests are among those who have travelled to Vatican City to pay their respects
Image source, Vatican Media/Simone Risoluti/Handout via ReutersYesterday, 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 co-operation 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.
Image source, Getty ImagesPope 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."
Image source, ReutersWe'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).
Image source, EPAAs we've been reporting, Pope Francis's 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:
Masses will continue to take place at various times throughout the day.
Image source, PA MediaThe 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:
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.
Image source, ReutersPriests arrive at St Peter's Basilica on the day the Pope's body is set to be moved there
Image source, ReutersCrowds began gathering by the Basilica in the early hours this morning
Image source, ReutersSwiss Guards, whose role is to protect the Pope, stand in St Peter's Square
Image source, ReutersTens 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.