Trending 
Pope Francis’ funeral is scheduled for Saturday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, with global leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, confirming their attendance to pay tribute to the Catholic leader.
The Argentine pontiff, 88, passed away on Monday after suffering a stroke, just weeks after returning home from a five-week hospitalisation for double pneumonia.
His funeral service, anticipated to draw large crowds, will begin at 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Saturday in the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Francis’s coffin—which he had specified should be made of wood and zinc—will later be moved inside the church and subsequently transported to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome for burial.
The date was determined by the initial “general congregation” of cardinals on Tuesday morning, marking the beginning of a traditional process that leads to the election of a new pope within three weeks.
Earlier, the Vatican released the first images of the pontiff in his open coffin, before it was transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday at 9:00 am (0700 GMT), where it will lie in state.
The pope’s body was photographed during a service on Monday evening in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lived throughout his 12-year papacy and where he passed away.
Francis was dressed in his red papal vestments, wearing a mitre, and holding a rosary in his fingers. Tributes to Francis, a progressive reformer who succeeded Benedict XVI in 2013, have come from around the world.
His home nation, Argentina, has prepared for a week of national mourning, while India began three days of state mourning on Tuesday—a rare gesture for a foreign religious leader in the world’s most populous country.
Heads of state and royalty are expected to attend his funeral, with Trump and France’s Emmanuel Macron among the first to announce their plans even before a date had been set.
On Tuesday, a source from the Ukrainian presidency confirmed to AFP that Zelensky would also be travelling to Rome.
Cardinals of various ages are welcome to the congregations, although only those under 80 years old are eligible to participate in the voting process for a new pope during the conclave. The conclave is expected to commence between 15 and 20 days after the pope’s passing.
The pope’s body was transferred to the Santa Marta chapel on Monday evening, and his apartment was formally sealed, according to the Vatican.
Francis, who preferred simple attire and avoided the luxury of his predecessors, chose a modest tomb, marked only with his name in Latin, Franciscus, as specified in the will released on Monday. By opting to be buried in Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, he will be the first pope in over a century to rest outside the Vatican.
The death certificate issued by the Vatican indicated that Francis died from a stroke, which resulted in a coma and “irreversible” heart failure. He had been released from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on March 23 and instructed to rest for at least two months.
However, Francis, who rarely took breaks and enjoyed being among his followers, made numerous public appearances in the days leading up to his passing.
He appeared fatigued during the Easter celebrations on Sunday but still made an effort to greet the crowds from his popemobile in St Peter’s Square.
