Watch Vatican Ceremony in St. Peter's Square
At least 4,000 police officers were on duty at the time of the funeral.
Vatican City reports
As the funeral is held, at least 4,000 police officers are on duty and at least 3,000 volunteers are helping those who are respected.
Read the entire order of service for funerals
The order of service published by Vatican contains prayers and hymns in today’s English and Italian.
Read the letter from St. Paul
Second reading from A letter from St. Paul to Philippians.
“Brothers and sisters, our citizenship is in heaven, and we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will give Himself to His glorious body by enabling Him to even bring all things.”
The first reading comes from the actions of the apostles
The liturgy is now taking place, and the first reading is from the funeral of the Apostles’ conduct.
Outside the Vatican, people gather to watch Pope Francis' funeral
The crowd gathered under a banner with the words “Thank you Francisco” as others at the time watched the funeral on the big screen on the streets near the Vatican.
Know the person who led the funeral
The funeral was led by Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the Cardinal College.
The 91-year-old was born in Brescia, Italy and has been in Roman Curia for five years since his appointment in 1957. In 2001, Pope John Paul II declared him a cardinal.
In January, he became the dean of the Cardinal College, whose body consists of the highest figures in the Catholic Church and will decide the next pope in a highly secretive ceremony called the Council.
However, he will not attend the upcoming meeting because the cardinal over 80 is excluded from the vote.
The funeral of Pope Francis begins with his coffin in front of St. Peter's Basilica
Pope Francis' coffin has been laid in the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica, indicating the beginning of the funeral, presided over by Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the Cardinal College.
Francis
Vatican City reports
The Vatican said the tombstone of the late pope was made of marble from Frances' grandparents from Liguria, northern Italy.
World leaders join the crowd at St. Peter's Square
President Donald Trump is one of many world leaders who attended the funeral with St. Peter's Square, which is now open to the public after reaching the full capacity of 50,000 people.
His predecessor, Joe Biden, also participated with Prince William of England. King Carl Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia of Spain will be one of the other European royal families, with Queen Silvia of Sweden and Queen Silvia of Norway, Queen Haakon and Mette-Mette-Marit of Spain.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and UN Secretary-General António Guterres were among the 164 foreign delegations invited. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lulada Silva also held funerals in Rome.
Guests will sit in French alphabetical order.
The poor will receive the body of Pope Francis at his funeral in the cathedral
Vatican City reports
A group of poor and needy people will welcome the body of Pope Francis, Major St. Mary, who will be buried later today, symbolizing the legacy of the late Pope, who chose his papal name to emphasize the spirit of poverty and peace embodied by St. Francis of Assisi.
“As a group of poor and needy people will therefore appear in the steps leading to St. Mary's Cathedral to pay tribute to Pope Frances before the coffin is buried,” the Vatican said Thursday.
It is a symbol of the life, religion and heritage of the pope, including the head of state, cardinal and world clergy, and when he leaves St. Peter's Square for the last time, the poor and poor will welcome him on the cathedral steps.
St. Peter's Square is close to the full capacity before the Pope's funeral
Vatican City reports
Police said Pope Francis' funeral began about an hour and St. Peter's Square looked almost to reach the full capacity of 40,000 people.
The force said in a statement that an estimated 100,000 people were on Via Della Conciliazione, leading to St. Peter's Square and along the main road along the roadway, and said in a statement that 140 delegations had entered the Vatican this morning.
A series of funerals and meetings that ruled the pope by an ancient tradition
In life, Pope Francis deviates from the more conservative paths of his predecessors, John Paul II and Pope Benedict.
But in death, Francis will follow in many steps of John Paul.
The first Argentina to lead the demise of the Roman Catholic Church restored a series of rituals, some of which date back to more than 2,000 years and have been used to bury more than 250 popes.
They are compiled with more than 400 pages of book called “Ordo exseciarum Romani Pontificis”, which includes the liturgy, music and prayer used for the funeral of the Pope for centuries.
Read the full story here.
Major security operations are underway before Pope Francis' funeral
As thousands of people will attend the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, security will be on the ground with thousands of police and special forces, air surveillance, and the anti-drone military departments in the area on high alert. NBC's Molly Hunter reported today.
Cardinal, Council and Pope, in five charts
Most internal promotions won't get much attention. Most job selection processes are not centuries old and rarely have special names.
However, most job choices do not end with a new pope.
Catholic cardinals from around the world will gather in the Vatican City at the conference, which will elect Pope Francis, who died on Monday. Favorites appear, and once the conclusion begins, a new pope will likely be announced soon, because the data suggests that the conclusion will not take as long as before.
About eight centuries ago, the conclusion was first used to elect the pope, and the election lasted for months or even years.
Read the full story here.