
Pope Francis latest: Body of pontiff to go on public viewing - as queues begin to form
07:22:44
Queues forming outside St Peter's Basilica
Queues are beginning to form outside St Peter's Basilica, where Pope Francis will lie in state for the next three days.
Tens of thousands of mourners are expected to queue to file past the Pope's open casket.
07:13:00
Podcast: What next after the Pope?
As Catholics around the world continue to mourn the death of Pope Francis, the process to elect a new pope will begin soon.
But what direction will the new pontiff take? Will the cardinals pick a reformer or go with a traditionalist? And how will the church deal with waning congregations in the global north in comparison with the growing numbers in the south?
On the latest episode of the Sky News Daily podcast, Niall Paterson speaks to Freddy Gray, editor of the US Spectator and former deputy editor of the Catholic Herald, about the tensions in the Catholic Church and how they will be resolved.
Listen below and follow the Daily wherever you enjoy your podcasts.
07:05:01
What are the chances of a British pope? These are the UK cardinals going to Rome
By Michael Drummond, foreign news reporter
With the death of Pope Francis, cardinals from around the world will soon gather in the Vatican to choose a new pontiff. Francis, of course, hailed from Argentina - but could the next pope be British?
It's been 866 years since the papacy of Britain's only ever pontiff (Pope Adrian IV) ended in 1159, and the history of the Catholic Church in the UK since then has been turbulent, with King Henry VIII perhaps the main culprit.
There are currently four British cardinals, three of whom are young enough to vote in the conclave.
And while none of them are considered odds-on favourites for the top job, it's true that surprises do happen behind the shuttered doors of the secretive congregation of cardinals.
So who are the British cardinals, and could one of them be the next pope?
Find out here.
06:55:55
Vatican prepares to move Pope Francis
Members of the clergy and Vatican officials are preparing for the translation of Pope Francis's coffin, which will shortly be moved to St Peter's Basilica (which you can see in the first image).
Queues are already forming outside the basilica, with public viewings of the pontiff's coffin to be allowed there from 10am UK time.
The coffin will be moved at around 8am via procession.
06:45:01
In pictures: Mourners around the globe remember Pope Francis
These images show mourners around the world gathering to remember the life of Pope Francis.
06:31:05
Pope Francis to be moved to St Peter's Basilica for public mourning
Pope Francis's body will be moved shortly.
The process, known as translation, will see him moved from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta to St Peter's Basilica.
It'll be moved that short distance in procession, which we're expecting to begin at around 8am UK time.
Up to now, Pope Francis has been lying in state in the Casa Santa Marta, available for private viewing only for Vatican residents and the papal household.
But from around 10am, the wider public will be able to queue and view the Pope's body in the Basilica.
His body will remain there until burial.
"The Basilica will remain open to the faithful who wish to visit the body of the Pontiff at the following times: Wednesday 23 April: 11:00-24:00 (local) Thursday 24 April: 7:00-24:00 (local) Friday 25 April: 7:00-19:00 (local)," the Vatican said in a statement yesterday.
06:05:04
Welcome back to our coverage
We're back with our coverage of the death of Pope Francis.
The pontiff's funeral is due to take place at 9am UK time in St Peter's Square on Saturday.
But later today the coffin containing the Pope's body will be carried in a procession from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta to St Peter's Basilica.
His body will then be laid out for public view from today in St Peter's Basilica, so mourners can pay their respects to a man dubbed the People's Pope.
Yesterday, Francis's body was pictured lying in a private chapel in a wooden coffin dressed in red, with rosary beads draped across his hands.
Here is what else you need to know:
Vatican sources said the Pope woke up at around 6am on Monday and was fine for at least one hour. But at around 7am, the Vatican's medical unit received an emergency call from his Casa Santa Marta apartment;
Vatican officials considered an urgent transfer to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome but with the quick deterioration of the Pope's condition, a police escort request was cancelled before 7.35am;
Prince William will attend the Pope's funeral on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace said;
Prince William, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sir Keir Starmer will join other leaders including Donald Trump at the funeral.
22:34:10
Watch: Mourners gather at Vatican
Hundreds have been gathering at the Vatican ahead of the Pope's funeral.
His body will be laid out for public view from tomorrow in St Peter's Basilica.
And then after his funeral on Saturday there will be a nine-day period of mourning, after which the secretive meeting - known as the conclave - to elect a new pope begins.
Here, Sky's Europe correspondent Adam Parsons speaks to those gathered at the Vatican.....
22:08:38
'I think he has gone home'
A friend of Pope Francis has been speaking to The World with Yalda Hakim this evening.
John Studzinski, who knew the pontiff for around 12 years, said Francis had "energy up until the last minute".
"I think he has gone home and the story on this earth ends well for him," he said.
"He lived to see Easter Sunday and participated in the Easter vigil, which is the most sacred Catholic rite in the entire year.
"Neither you nor I would let any member of our family go through this type of physical indignity - you could see how ill he was in the last several days but he defied everyone."
Studzinski went on to say: "If you were writing the script you couldn't do better than the holy father did in terms of his departure."
Asked how he would be remembered, Studzinski added that the public remembrance will be about Francis's "humility" and "simplicity".
He said privately, the Pope was "very blunt", "funny" and "quite willing to share his frailties".
"He never forgot his background, his struggles and where he came from," he added.
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