Bells rang out as the Pope's coffin was carried across St Peter's Square to lie in state ahead of the funeral on Saturday.

A nun reads a book as she waits in line with others to view Pope Francis lying in state inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Thursday, . People stand in line as they wait to enter St. Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis lying in state,

Gianlorenzo Bernini's monumental canopy serves as a dramatic frame as Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell leads the procession accompanying Pope Francis's body into St. Peter

Francis did away with that sort of viewing. Instead, a procession brought his coffin on Wednesday directly to St. Peter’s Basilica, where a public viewing is taking place. Francis’ body, dressed in papal vestments, his head covered with a white bishop’s miter, is lying in state to allow tens of thousands of mourners to bid farewell.

Pope Francis died quickly on Monday morning from an unexpected stroke without suffering undue pain, and there was nothing that doctors could have done to save his life, the head of the pontiff's medical team said in interviews published on Thursday.