Pope Benedict's coffin has been carried out of the basilica by ushers known as papal gentlemen and is being laid before the altar Live updates here: 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube
A steady stream of people are still filing into St Peter's Square, according toThey include religious visitors, monks, priests and bishops, along with normal Catholics. One of the questions now, he says, is whether the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will change the way Pope Francis leads the Church. Parsons says it is possible we may now see Francis taking the Church in a more liberal direction following Benedict's death.
Close aides of the former pope are present, including his long-serving personal secretary Archbishop Georg Ganswein. As you can see from these images, the fog has now lifted over St Peter's Square...These images show cardinals arriving for the funeral - and one obviously missed the furore around Gianni Infantino taking a selfie at Pele's lying in state earlier this week...
Almost 200,000 people filed past the former pope's body as he lay in state within St Peter's Basilica earlier this week. A one-page account of his papacy and other items, including Vatican coins minted during his reign, were tucked into the coffin. In subsequent years he largely avoided public appearances, but lived in a monastery within the Vatican gardens and continued to wear white.
In recent years, Benedict had remained a standard bearer for Catholic conservatives who felt alienated by the reforms ushered in by Francis. Pope Benedict's funeral today will make historyFor the first time in many hundreds of years, the Vatican will hold a funeral service for a former pope, presided over by the present Pope.
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