Archbishops and bishops gathered in the Constantine Wing, a corridor adjacent to St Peter's Basilica - Catholic priests began congregating in St Peter's Square.

Patriarchs from the Orthodox church and cardinals congregated in Saint Sebastian Chapel, inside the basilica

The funeral startswhen the coffin is laid in the square in front of St Peter's Basilica. The service will be led by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. The funeral ends and a slow procession carrying the Pope's coffin will make its way to his final resting place - the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

There are dozens of world leaders and members of various royal families expected to attend Pope Francis' funeral (a small sampling of that here).

They will be sitting in French alphabetical order according to the name of their country.

The exemptions to this will be Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who have their own separate spaces due to their nationalities.

The graphic below shows where they will be sat inside St Peter's Square.

Dozens of world leaders, monarchs and dignitaries are already in town for this funeral.

We've also seen priests and nuns, and lots of young Catholics, hurrying through the streets, trying to get to the square and secure their place.

This is an important day for the church but it’s also a poignant personal moment for those gathering here.

The makeup of the crowd reflects some of the causes Pope Francis cared about: the homeless, migrants and refugees. We understand arrangements have even been made for some prisoners to attend, as Pope Francis often visited jails here, sometimes washing the feet of inmates as a mark of humility.

It’s also a really international crowd. We’ve met Americans, and a man from Cabo Verde, who came all the way here especially for the funeral mass.

(Source: BBC)