Pope Francis leads funeral of Benedict XVI as tens of thousands gather at Vatican

At his request, Benedict’s coffin is buried in the underground Vatican grottoes

Tens of thousands of mourners gathered at St Peter’s Square in Vatican City to watch Pope Francis deliver a rare requiem mass for his predecessor, Benedict XVI, during the former pontiff’s funeral.

Benedict passed away aged 95 on 31 December, nearly a decade after he became the first head of the Catholic Church in six centuries to step down from the role.

Large crowds of people began arriving for the funeral as early as 0400 local time [0300 GMT], following three days of remembrance in St Peter’s Square, during which around 200,000 people paid their respects to the former pontiff in what the Vatican described as “the greeting of the faithful”. Police estimated that between 60,000 and 100,000 would visit St Peter’s Square to attend the funeral.