ROME – Mourners on Wednesday morning began filling St. Peter’s Square to await their turn to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, whose remains will lie in state inside the basilica for the next three days prior to his funeral Mass on Saturday.

In a ceremony steeped in tradition but also reflecting the late pope’s penchant for innovation, his remains were formally relocated Wednesday morning from the Casa Santa Marta, the hotel on Vatican grounds where he lived for twelve years and where he died Easter Monday from complications related to double pneumonia.

The rite was presided over by American Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who serves as the camerlengo, or chamberlain, meaning the custodian of the Vatican during the papal interregnum.

“Let us thank the Lord for countless gifts that he bestowed on the Christian people through His servant Pope Francis,” Farrell said.

“Let us ask him in his mercy and kindness to grant the late pope an eternal home in the kingdom of heaven and to comfort with celestial hope, the papal family, the church in Rome and the faithful throughout the world,” he said.

While popes have traditionally lied in state in the basilica after the deaths, Francis added a couple of distinctive elements.

First, a private exhibition of the remains in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace for senior church officials and other VIPs was skipped, moving directly to the public viewing. Second, Francis also opted that his coffin would not be exhibited on a raised platform known as a catafalque, and no triple casket of cypress, lead and oak.

The pope’s casket will remain in the basilica until Saturday’s funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square, which will be presided over by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals. At 91, Re is not eligible to participate in the conclave to elect Francis’s successor, but he remains in office as the dean and will lead all the major public events until the conclave opens.

The basilica opened to the public at 11 a.m. local time Wednesday and will remain open until midnight. On Thursday and Friday, it will open at 7 a.m. and close at midnight. Francis’ coffin was laid at the Altar of the Confessio, a sacred space in front of the main above the tomb of St. Peter, the first pope.

Thought the Vatican has not released an official list of heads of state and other VIPs expected to be on hand for Saturday’s funeral, scores have already confirmed their attendance, including U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melanie Trump.

In addition, Presidents Javier Milei of the pope’s native Argentina, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Emmaneul Macron of France, Andrzej Duda of Poland and Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine are expected, as well as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Europe Union President Ursula von der Leyen. Royals Prince William of the UK and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia also will be present.

The funeral will begin at 10:00 a.m. Rome time on Saturday, which is 4:00 a.m. on the East Coast of the United States. A crowd of at least 250,00 people is expected to attend the funeral Mass, which will be carried live on television networks around the world and likely will become one of the most viewed live events in history.