Pope Francis’s funeral set for Saturday
Pope Francis's funeral will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced, as world leaders from US President Donald Trump to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said they would attend to honour the Catholic leader.
The Argentine pontiff, 88, died on Monday from a stroke, less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. His funeral, which is expected to draw huge crowds, will take place at 10:00am on Saturday in the majestic Baroque plaza in front of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.
Francis's coffin -- which he previously ordered should be of wood and zinc -- will then be taken inside the church and from there to Rome's papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial.
The first so-called "general congregation" of cardinals took place on Tuesday morning, kicking off a centuries-old process that culminates in the election of a new pontiff within three weeks.
Francis's coffin will be transferred to St Peter's Basilica on Wednesday at 9:00am, to lie in state until Saturday's funeral.
The Holy See's official media Vatican News, released details about Francis's last hours.
The pontiff started feeling ill on Monday at around 5:30 am, less than 24 hours after he greeted a crowd of faithful in St Peter's Square on Easter Sunday.
Before falling into a coma, he waved to his personal nurse Massimiliano Strappetti, from his bed, in what Vatican News described as "a gesture of farewell".
On Sunday, he had thanked Strappetti for encouraging him to take what would become his last tour of St Peter's Square in his popemobile.
He was pronounced dead at 7:35 am on Monday.
Tributes have poured in from around the globe for Francis, a liberal reformer who took over following the resignation of German theologian Benedict XVI in 2013.
Trump was among the first to confirm he would attend the funeral, even after Francis criticised his migrant deportations. Other expected guests include European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, France's Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Zelensky and the Spanish royals.
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