Pope Francis funeral latest: Watch as tens of thousands of mourners view Pontiff’s open casket at St Peter’s Basilica

The secret meeting of cardinals, known as the conclave, usually begins between 15 and 20 days after a pope’s death.

However, if the cardinals agree, it could begin earlier to elect Pope Francis’ successor.

Following the period of mourning, 5 May seems a likely date on which it might start, said Joe Ronan, who works with the Catholic Voices media charity.

Only cardinals who were aged 80 or under on the day of the Pope’s death have a vote.

While there must be a minimum of 120 cardinals – senior members of the Catholic Church – in the conclave, Mr Ronan said there are currently around 135 cardinals of voting age.

The conclave convenes in the Sistine Chapel, where there can be up to four votes each day.

There is no set time for the conclave to elect a new pope, and if it carries on for a long time, it is possible for the cardinals to take a break, and have a non-voting day.

A two-thirds majority is required for a new pope to be elected.

Each time there is a vote, the ballots are then burned with black smoke from a chimney of the Sistine Chapel, indicating no one has been elected. The white smoke confirms a new pontiff.

Mr Ronan said there is expected to be a double confirmation, to avoid confusion: “As well as the white smoke I think they will also ring the bells of St Peter’s as a double check.

“These days they go to great pains to make sure that the colour of the smoke is very clear, sometimes (in the past) you have had a sort of grey colour.”

A huge gathering of the Catholic faithful will come together to grieve the loss of Pope Francis in the coming days, followed by the secretive and potentially lengthy process of cardinals choosing a new pontiff.

The Church is currently in “sede vacante”, or “the vacant See”. This happened at the moment of the Pope’s death.

Following the funeral, the “novemdiali” takes place – nine days of official mourning. The funeral marks the first day of this period, with the final day on 4 May.

Each day after the funeral, a mass will be held at St Peter’s Basilica, which will be presided over by a different cardinal.

Only Cardinals will be allowed to concelebrate the masses dedicated to the Papal Chapel on 30 April and 4 May, according to reports.

The cardinals yesterday met in private to finalise the preparations for Saturday’s funeral and plan the conclave to elect Francis’ successor.

Pope Francis chose St Mary Major as his resting place, about 4 km from the Vatican, which marks a break from tradition, as most popes were buried in Vatican grounds.

The basilica was important to the Pope because it was his favourite place to pray. He prayed there before and after every international trip.

The funeral has been set for Saturday at 10am (local time) in St Peter’s Square. It will be attended by world leaders, including US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Francis’ death and funeral will usher in a carefully orchestrated period of transition in the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church, with cardinals gathering over the coming days before entering a conclave, the secretive ritual voting in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope.

Thousands of people filed through St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday to pay their final respects to Pope Francis at the start of three days of public viewing ahead of his funeral.

Throngs of the faithful made their way to the 16th-century basilica’s main altar, where Francis’ open wooden casket was perched, as Swiss Guards stood at attention.

Over the coming days, tens of thousands of people are expected to pass through, and the Vatican said it may make the viewing hours even longer due to high turnout. In the first 8.5 hours, 19,430 people paid their respects to the pope.

Francis was laid out in red robes, clasping a rosary and wearing a bishop’s mitre, the traditional pointed headdress. Mourners waited hours to reach the casket, which was behind a cordon. Some held their phones aloft as they neared to snap photos in what has become a modern ritual.”It gave me chills,” said Ivenes Bianco, as she left.

She was in Rome from the southern city of Brindisi for medical care, and came to pay her respects. “He was important to me because he encouraged co-existence. He brought many people together.

“Francis’ casket wasn’t put on an elevated bier – as was the case with past popes – but placed on a ramp, facing the pews.

It was in keeping with his wishes for the rituals surrounding a papal funeral to be simplified to reflect his belief that the pope’s role is that of simple pastor, not world leader.

Pope Francis chose St Mary Major as his resting place, about 4 km from the Vatican.

It marks a break from tradition as most popes were buried in Vatican grounds – the last pope not to be was in 1903.

The basilica was important to the Pope because it was his favourite place to pray. He prayed there before and after every international trip.

“I’ve always had a great devotion to St Mary Major, even before I became pope,” he wrote in his 2024 book El Sucesor.