Last Words of Pope Francis

 

The Vatican has revealed that Pope Francis thanked his nurse for taking him on what would be his final ride in the pope-mobile to greet the Catholic faithful in St Peter's Square on Easter Sunday. In his final words, Francis told his nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti: "Thank you for bringing me back to the square."

Francis's funeral is set for 9am (10 am BST) on Saturday. It will be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Cardinals meeting on Tuesday (April 22) for the first time since Francis’s death set the date and also determined the late pope’s body will go on public display at St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday.

Grief and tributes have continued to pour in from around the world after the death of Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88 on Easter Monday. Doctors at Rome’s Gemelli hospital had prescribed complete rest after the late pope's recent illness, but the typically active Pope was never likely to follow it.

The first images of Francis were released on Tuesday, showing him in a wooden casket, dressed in red vestments and his bishop's miter, with the Vatican secretary of state praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived.