Pope Francis' final journey: World leaders to bid farewell to 'pope of the slums' | Venue, burial details here

Pope Francis, the head of the worldwide Catholic Church, will be laid to rest on Saturday (Apr 26) in Rome. Pope Francis passed away on April 21, aged 88. He died of a stroke and irreversible heart failure, less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia.

Pope Francis' funeral will take place at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Saturday in the square in front of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.His body will be placed in a wooden coffin before the funeral and then placed in two other coffins that fit inside one another, each made of different types of wood, at his burial site.

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The schedule for the funeral is as follows:

• 07:45 GMT - 11:00 GMT: Pope Francis’ funeral mass and ceremonies in St. Peter's Basilica and Square.
• 10:00 GMT onwards: Pope Francis's casket transported for burial at St. Mary Major Basilica.
• 12:00 GMT: Mass at Buenos Aires Cathedral and march around Plaza de Mayo.

Where will Pope Francis be buried?

The Vatican announced that at least 130 foreign delegations had confirmed their attendance for the event, including 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs. After the funeral mass on Saturday, Pope Francis will be buried outside the Vatican in St. Mary Major, a basilica in Rome. He will be the first pope in more than five centuries to be buried there.

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List of leaders attending the Pope's funeral

• United States President Donald Trump
  
• Indian President Droupadi Murmu
  
• Prince William
  
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
  
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
  
• Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos
  
• Argentina President Javier Milei
  
• Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
  
• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
  
• French President Emmanuel Macron
  
• German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
  
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
  
• Hungary President Tamas Sulyok
  
• Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban
  

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How will new Pope be elected?

After the funeral, there are nine days of official mourning, known as the “novendiali.” During this period, the world's 252 cardinals will arrive in Rome. Of the 252, only 138 under the age of 80 are eligible to vote in the conclave. The cardinals will vote in secret sessions, and the ballots will be burned in a special stove after each session. Black smoke will indicate that no pope has been elected, while white smoke will indicate that the cardinals have chosen the next head of the Catholic Church. Read More | India's President Murmu pays homage to Pope Francis, to attend funeral tomorrow