United Kingdom, April 22 -- Pope Francis' funeral will take place on Saturday 26 April.

The pontiff - whose birth name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio - passed away on Easter Monday (21.04.25) at the age of 88 and just over 24 hours later, the Vatican confirmed in a statement that he will be laid to rest this weekend.

The service will take place outdoors in front of St Peter's Basilica at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST) and will be led by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re.

Francis will become the first Pope in more than half a century to not be buried in the crypt of St Peter's Basilica within the Vatican, in accordance with his wishes, and will instead be laid to rest in Rome's Basilica of St Mary Major.

Since the ann...