On Saturday morning at 11:00 (local time), the funeral service for Pope Francis will be held in Rome, and shortly afterwards, the funeral procession will start from St. Peter’s Square, heading to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he will be buried.

The route, which will cross the heart of Rome, will take about half an hour and will take place in a procession of cars moving at a slow pace.

Among the leaders who will be present in Rome are U.S. President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Today, at 21:00 (local time), the ceremony for the closing of the Pope’s coffin will take place inside St. Peter’s Basilica in an intimate family and church circle, without television coverage, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced.

Watch a live image from St Peter’s Basilica:

Earlier today, Italy’s civil protection agency sent a notice to those in Rome informing them of the last day of farewell. St Peter’s Square will close today at 18:00 and the Basilica at 20:00 (local time). The queue to enter the church will remain open until 19:00, in order to keep to the scheduled time.

According to Italian media reports, by noon on Friday, more than 150,000 people had paid tribute to the late Pontiff.

Security measures

A separate “exercise” for the Italian authorities is the issue of security with barriers inside and outside St Peter’s Basilica to control crowds and controls have been stepped up.

State-of-the-art equipment such as anti-drone devices, a no-fly zone patrolled by fighter jets and sophisticated jamming technologies have been deployed throughout Rome and the capital’s airspace. Meanwhile, anti-terrorism units are operating on the ground with 2,000 police officers patrolling St. Peter’s Basilica and the surrounding area, with 400 traffic police officers assigned to manage traffic convoys.