Large crowds have gathered in Vatican City for the funeral of Pope Francis attended by leaders from around the world.

Francis died on Monday at the age of 88, just a day after he made his final public appearance to offer Easter greetings from a balcony at St Peter’s Basilica.

He became the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church when he replaced the retiring Benedict XVI in 2013. Francis adopted a markedly less formal tone than previous popes in his time as the leader of the Church, underlining his reputation for simplicity and humility.

This simplicity was again evident in the wishes he had for proceedings following his death. He wanted to be laid to rest in a simple wooden casket rather than the more elaborate ones used for previous papal burials made of three nesting coffins made of cypress, lead and oak.

Pope Francis lay in state inside the iconic St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican for a period of public mourning, with queues of thousands of people passing by the open coffin to say a final farewell.

More than 100 foreign delegations attended the funeral including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump. Mr Trump’s visit to the Vatican is his first overseas trip since he reentered the White House in January.

World leaders and European royalty sat alongside rows of bishops, nuns and cardinals as the service was led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals. He delivered the final commendation and valediction – a prayer which formally entrusts the Pope to God.

An estimated 200,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square and the surrounding streets hoping to catch a glimpse of the procession.

Authorities in Rome and the Vatican stepped up security measures this week to deal with the huge numbers flocking to say farewell to Pope Francis.

Swiss guards dressed in striped yellow, blue and red uniforms are keeping a close eye on proceedings in the Vatican. Often known as “the world’s smallest army”, this 135-strong force has protected the Pope for five centuries.

The Pope’s army hails from Switzerland because during the Middle Ages and Renaissance the Swiss developed a reputation for being among Europe’s best and most reliable mercenary soldiers.

After the funeral service, the procession will leave St Peter’s Basilica and travel east over the River Tiber to the basilica of Santa Marioa Maggiore, where Pope Francis requested to be buried.

Although it was a small journey of about 4km (2.5 miles), it is a big change in tradition with Francis becoming the first Pope since Leo XIII, who died in 1903, to be buried outside the Vatican.

Pope Francis made his wishes for a simple burial clear in his will, saying: “The tomb should be in the earth; simple, without special decoration, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.”

There are some 1.4 billion Catholics across the world, with the majority of them in the Americas – although the Church’s fastest-growing population is in Africa. Many of them crowded round TV screens on Saturday to watch the proceedings at the Vatican.

Once the funeral is over, the dean of the College of Cardinals has up to 20 days to summon the cardinals to the Vatican to begin the process of electing the next pontiff, known as a conclave.

A nine-day mourning period, known as Novemdiales, will also begin.