# Dignitaries from across the world, as well as tens of thousands of mourners, are expected at St Peter’s Square in Rome this morning for the funeral of Pope Francis. The 88-year-old died on Monday from a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure. In the run-up to the pontiff’s funeral, people have paid their respects to the Pope as his body lay in state in an open wooden coffin in St Peter’s Basilica from Wednesday morning. He will be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica.
Pope Francis is set to be laid to rest today