Image source, Ramez Twal

As the Vatican prepares to end viewings at St Peter's Basilica at 19:00 local time (18:00 BST), the BBC has spoken to the last person in the queue to pay their respects to Pope Francis.

Father Ramez Twal from Jersualem tells Outside Source: "It's amazing that we as a group from the Holy Land get to say the last goodbye for our late Pope Francis."

Twal says it is a "really emotional moment to say thank you to him for being with us during this terrible time in the Holy Land".

"He means a lot to me," Twal adds. "Because he gave us a spiritual way of thinking, he had a love he gave for all, and he taught us to respect each other.

"We will miss him.”

We are closing this live page and will return on Saturday from 06:00 BST with coverage of Pope Francis's funeral in Rome.

In the meantime, you can stay across the latest updates via the BBC News website:

• 'Something different in the air' as hushed Rome reckons with Pope's death
• Pope Francis's funeral: A visual guide

Image source, Getty Images

Global leaders are arriving in Rome ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday. Let's take a brief look at some of those expected to attend:

• US President Donald Trump
• Argentina's President Javier Milei
• Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

• EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa
• France's President Emmanuel Macron
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prince William

• Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia

• Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella

• Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky
• Israel's ambassador Yaron Sideman
• DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi

• India's President Droupadi Murmu
• Philippines's President Ferdinand Marcos Jr

• Ecuador President Daniel Noboa
• Ireland Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin

• New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
• Sweden King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia
• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from Rome

Image source, Gett

The seat at the Vatican had been vacant for two days when a group of grey-clad nuns stood on St Peter's Square and started to sing.

Softly at first then louder, as if to encourage those who joined in timidly, the nuns broke into Ave Maria.

Every so often they shuffled a few inches forward, following the queue for Pope Francis's lying in state. And all the while they sang, their faces turned to St Peter's Basilica to their left, their white veils glistening under their large sun hats.

It was a fitting sight for an extraordinary week in which Rome seemed to regain its reputation as the "capital of the world" – and St Peter's Square as the centre of the Catholic universe.

There is mourning, but also recognition that the Pope, who lived to 88, died quickly and peacefully. "At least he didn't suffer," many say. Yet this isn't the time for celebration either - that will have to wait until after the funeral, when the conclave will spark the usual frenzy of excitement, intrigue and inevitable speculation.

Before then, in Rome these in-between days have taken on a flavour of their own.

Read more: 'Something different in the air' as hushed Rome reckons with Pope's death

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from Rome

Image source, Getty Images

Archbishops and bishops will start gathering at 08:30 local time (07:30 BST) in the Constantine Wing, a corridor adjacent to St Peter's Basilica.

At the same time, Catholic priests will congregate in St Peter's Square.

Half an hour later, at 09:00 local time, patriarchs from the Orthodox church and cardinals will congregate in Saint Sebastian Chapel, inside the basilica, where the remains of Pope John Paul II lie.

They will walk in a funeral procession accompanying the Pope's coffin, which has spent the last four days in the centre of St Peter's Basilica.

The funeral starts at 10:00 when 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.

​​Guests and dignitaries will be seated closer to the basilica and coffin, with thousands of other clergy and members of the public in and around St Peter's Square, similar to the funeral for Pope Benedict XVI shown below

• Read more: A visual guide of Pope Francis's funeral

Kris Bramwell
Journalist

Image source, Joe Mitchell

Joe Mitchell, 21, is currently on a bus traveling from Bologna to Rome for Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday.

Mitchell, a history student at the University of Edinburgh, has been studying on exchange at the University of Bologna since September 2024.

He tells the BBC: “I was weighing up whether to travel for the Conclave or the funeral and with the funeral being a set date, I thought this would be the best time to come down.

“I’m a great admirer of Pope Francis and the liberal approach he has taken to the Catholic Church."

He says he is a "confirmed Catholic" but "not the most devout".

"I’m in Italy and I have the opportunity," he says before adding: "I’m Interested to see who will be elected next.”

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania have left Washington DC on Air Force One, heading to Rome to attend the funeral.

He is one of many foreign dignitaries going to the service in the Vatican tomorrow, including his predecessor Joe Biden and his wife Jill.

Other high-profile names who will be present include:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
• Prince William
• Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
• Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr
• Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky

If you'd like to watch the funeral in the morning, coverage will begin here on the BBC website and app starting from 06:00BST (07:00GMT).

Reeta Chakrabarti will be presenting our main coverage live from St Peter's Square in the Vatican from 09:30 local time (07:30 GMT, 08:30 BST), also available on BBC1 and iPlayer.

Here's an explainer we've written of what will happen during the service here, as well as what comes next once Pope Francis is laid to rest.

The Vatican has released the order of service ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square.

The booklet, published on the Vatican's website, is 87 pages long and contains the service in English, Italian and Latin.

There are also sections in several other languages including French and Portuguese.

The service will begin at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST) tomorrow.

Click here for the full English version of the order of service published earlier today.

Maryam Moshiri
Chief Presenter, reporting from the Vatican.

Hundreds of thousands of people have flocked to Rome ahead of the funeral tomorrow.

Bishop Anthony Randazzo is the Bishop of Broken Bay, Sydney in Australia. He has flown here for the occasion and spoke to me about the pope.

"I first met the Pope when he was still Cardinal Bergoglio and he used to stay in the clerical house in Rome where I used to live and work and I found him at that time to be a warm human being," he says.

"He was somebody who never thought twice about sitting down and having a meal with you, catching up in the lift and along the way... which wasn't always the case with all the Cardinals. He was very personable, very human and very warm.

"Recently, last year on his visit to Papa New Guinea, he spotted me in the crowd in Port Moresby with thousands of people and when it came time to say hello he wouldn’t let me go," he continues.

"He just kept talking about issues that were real, asking about the wellbeing of people he knew I had contact with. I think he was quite an extraordinary human being."

Maryam Moshiri
Chief Presenter, reporting from the Vatican

In the last few minutes all mobile phones, including mine, in the vicinity of the Vatican received an emergency message from authorities.

In this message we have been warned that access to St Peter's Square will be shut from 17:00 local time (16:00BST) today.

As a reminder, the pope is lying in state until the funeral on Saturday morning, but public access the queue to see him will end this evening at 18:00 local time.

Sarah Rainsford
Reporting from St Peter's Square

There are lots of extra security measures in place in and around the Vatican ahead of Saturday’s funeral, when dozens of heads of state will be in town.

We’ve seen mounted police and sniffer dogs, a few heavily armed soldiers as well as members of the air force with giant hand-held jammer guns for protection against drones.

The atmosphere is relaxed, though, with lots of people posing for photos with the police or asking directions on their way to St Peter’s Basilica to file past the coffin of the Pope.

The politicians and royalty will start arriving here this evening. Some of them, like Argentine president Javier Milei, clashed publicly with the Pope during his life but are now coming to pay their respects at his funeral.

Meanwhile, the Vatican says many of the cardinals who will be eligible to vote for a new Pope are not yet in Italy.

They will travel from all over the world to take part in the secretive election process, expected to begin about 10 days or so after the funeral.

Sarah Rainsford
Reporting frim St Peter's Square

The Vatican has said that access to the queue to see the Pope in St Peter's Basilica will close at around 18:00 (17:00 BST) this evening, in order for all those in the line to get a chance to reach the church and file past the coffin.

They expect that process to be over by 19:00, when the doors of the basilica will be closed and the final preparations will be made ahead of the funeral on Saturday morning.

Maryam Moshiri
Chief Presenter, reporting from the Vatican

From where we are on a rooftop nearby you can clearly see the sheer size of the queue this morning.

Many more than yesterday, with the number of mourners expected to increase markedly over the coming hours.

Inside the piazza the preparations are well underway for the ceremony tomorrow.

Hundreds of chairs have been lined up already in neat rows - and organisers have placed red benches near the marble staircase and platform just outside the doors to the Basilica.

It's thought around 130 delegations from around the world will be in attendance, the last figure given by the Vatican was 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs.

This funeral will be a huge global event watched and followed by millions of people around the world.

Pope Francis's funeral will begin at 10:00 local time (0800 GMT, 09:00 BST) tomorrow in Rome, which will be a simpler affair than for many of his predecessors.

It will be attended by many foreign dignitaries, including:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
• Prince William
• US President Donald Trump
• Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
• Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr
• Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky

If you'd like to watch the funeral tomorrow morning, our coverage will begin at 09:30 local time (07:30 GMT, 08:30 BST), presented by Reeta Chakrabarti live from St Peter's Square in the Vatican.

It will be broadcast here on the BBC News website and app as part of our live coverage, or you will be able to watch it on BBC1 and iPlayer.

We've put together this explainer laying out what will happen at the funeral here, for those interested in finding out in advance.

This is the final day for mourners to pay their respects to Pope Francis, before his funeral is held tomorrow morning.

St Peter's Basilica will remain open until 18:00 local time (17:00BST) for those still hoping to file through to view his body lying in state and pay homage to him.

Following his funeral, at 10:00 local time tomorrow, Francis will become the first Pope in more than a century not to be buried in the crypt at St Peter's - he will instead be laid to rest at the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome.

Sarah Rainsford
Reporting from the Vatican

There's a big crowd now on the main road leading up to the basilica where a group of teenage girls has been singing the Ave Maria as they wait.

When police finally pulled back the metal barrier to let the first part of the crowd through there was a sudden surge forward - and loud applause.

Everyone is anxious to make it to the front of the queue in time, as today is their last chance to pay their respects before the Pope’s coffin is closed ahead of the funeral tomorrow morning.

Mourners are continuing to file past the open coffin of Pope Francis. You can watch live coverage by pressing the button above. Below are some more details.

When is the funeral?

On Saturday in front of St Peter's Basilica.

The Pope will lie in state inside the church until his burial at St Mary Major in Rome, also on Saturday.

How is a new Pope chosen?

Once Pope Francis is buried, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, has up to 20 days to summon the cardinals to the Vatican to begin the process of electing the next Pope, known as a conclave.

The below graphic goes through the key steps in the process.

Who can become Pope?

Roman Catholic men who have been baptised can be considered for election to become Pope.

In theory, this could be any baptised man, but in practice, cardinals prefer to select one of their own.

Matt Spivey
Live editor

Image source, Reuters

Mourners continue to pay their respects to Pope Francis into the night, as he lies in state at St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

Earlier today the queue stretched out of St Peter's Square, as 90,000 people filed past the Pontiff's coffin in just one day.

We've been hearing from some of those in the queue - Sister Patricia Murray who remembers the late Pope's "warmth and humanity", and Brenda Cleary from County Antrim, Northern Ireland, who called him an "amazing, amazing man".

The funeral will take place at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST) on Saturday, but the Basilica will remain open on Friday from 07:00 to 19:00 local time for those still hoping to pay homage to Pope Francis.

We're pausing our live coverage now and will return on Friday morning. For more on this story:

• What happens after the death of Pope Francis?
• The church Pope Francis kept returning to - and chose as his final resting place
• Who is going to the Pope's funeral?

Maryam Moshiri
Chief Presenter, reporting from the Vatican

The queues to see the Pope lying in state have become much shorter this evening.

Current queuing time is under an hour. It's estimated over 90,000 people have already filed past the Pontiff's body today alone.

He will continue to lie in state until Friday evening at 7pm, after which his coffin will be closed and final preparations will be made for his funeral on Saturday morning.

As a reminder, you can see mourners pay their respects by pressing watch live above.

Maryam Moshiri
Chief presenter, reporting from the Vatican

As the sun sets on another day at the Vatican, I spoke to Filipino nun Sister Marcedita Placio Saboga-a from a congregation in Taiwan.

She became very emotional as she described seeing the Pope lying in state in St Peter's Basilica.

"When I saw him in that wooden casket... I just said to the Lord, 'Thank you for this man, a very humble Pope,'" Sister Marcedita says, through tears.

"He's a good model for us, the servants of God, he's our spiritual leader and he showed us how you're supposed to treat Christians."

Looking to the future, she says that she prays there will be a representative from Asia, but accepts that "only God knows" who the next Pope will be.

Mark Lowen
Reporting from Rome

Image source, Getty Images

I've been speaking to three women in New York who each were dealing with extremely difficult life circumstances - illness, bereavement or health conditions - when they met Pope Francis. They say it changed their lives forever.

Julia Bruzzese:

"I was 12 years old and I had just been recently diagnosed with Lyme’s disease. I went from being a sporty kid to being paralysed in a wheelchair in a matter of months. One day out of the blue, the principal at my school reached out to my father and offered tickets to go meet the Pope.

"When he got off the plane, he came right over to me and he blessed me. We went from being really very alone to people seeing me on the news and reaching out to offer advice - doctors offering treatments and people with Lyme’s disease reaching out to share their stories. I was able to get treatment. And it led me to advocacy for Lyme’s disease because I realised a lot of people don’t have a voice. So the Pope changed my life and it’s a day I’ll never forget."

Stephanie Gabaud:

"I was diagnosed with Spina bifida from birth, unable to walk. So I’ve been in a wheelchair all my life. I wasn’t even supposed to survive. I met the Pope at St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

"He gave me the sign of the cross on my forehead. And he whispered to me - he told me he wanted to pray for me. I felt a sense of relief. Today I am thriving: travelling, raising awareness about children with disabilities like mine. I’m doing great and I thank Pope Francis for what he has done for me. He changed my life for the better."

Monica Iken-Murphy:

"I lost my soul mate in 9/11. We had only been married 11 months and I watched as the plane went into the tower he was in. In a minute, my life changed. But God spoke to me and said I had a mission to help get the 9/11 memorial built. And in 2015, I was honoured as a board member of the 9/11 memorial museum. I was then asked to bring my two girls to meet the Pope at a memorial ceremony.

"We were so excited... and meeting him changed me. I felt like a new human. The power of his presence, and him saying that the 9/11 memorial space is hallowed space - it really meant everything."