Pope Francis final journey to mother earth will begin today  when former archbishop of Los Angeles Cardinal  Roger Mahony close his coffin – despite being stripped of all his administrative and public duties in 2013 after covering up a child sex abuse scandal.

The coffin bearing the body of Pope Francis is due to be sealed today at 8pm (18:00 GMT) in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Camerlengo, who is running the Vatican’s day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected.

More than 170 delegations – including heads of state and government and other dignitaries, such as United States President Donald Trump, Argentinian President Javier Milei and Britain’s Prince William – are expected in St. Peter’s Square for Saturday’s funeral as millions more people watch on television across the globe.

Italy’s Civil Protection Department estimated that “several hundred thousand” people will descend on Rome on what was already set to be a busy weekend due to a public holiday.

After the funeral, Francis’s coffin will be taken to his favourite church, Rome’s papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

A group of “poor and needy” will be present at the basilica to welcome the coffin, the Vatican said.

He will be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus. People will be able to visit it from Sunday morning, the Vatican announced.