Huge crowds flock to Vatican for Pope Francis's funeral

Tens of thousands of mourners flooded into St Peter's Square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, the champion of the poor and the Catholic Church's first Latin American leader.

- Agence France-Presse

VATICAN CITY: Tens of thousands of mourners flooded into St Peter's Square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, the champion of the poor and the Catholic Church's first Latin American leader.

Some people waited overnight to be first in the queue for the ceremony, attended by world leaders including US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Argentine pontiff, who died on Monday aged 88, sought to steer the centuries-old Church into a more inclusive direction during his 12-year papacy.

Some 250,000 people paid their respects before his coffin during its three days of lying in state at St Peter's Basilica, and huge numbers gathered from dawn on Friday to attend his final send-off.

"He was not just the pope, he was what the definition of being human is," said Andrea Ugalde, 39, who flew from Los Angeles to attend Saturday's mass.

The ceremony was due to begin at 10 am (0800 GMT) and was expected to draw some 200,000 people.