In arms of God

Millions of TV viewers will watch stripped-down service for pontiff

- BY MATTHEW YOUNG

TENS of millions will watch the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday as it is beamed around the world.

The 88-year old pontiff, the first Latin American head of the Catholic Church, died on Easter Monday.

The stripped-down service as per his express wishes will see a Mass being held in front of 300,000 people in the Vatican's St Peter's Square.

He will then be laid to rest in a simple underground tomb in Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore, one of his favourite churches.

It will be inscribed with Franciscus, the Latin name applied to Saint Francis of Assisi, one of the most venerated figures in Christianity.

In pictures released by the Vatican yesterday, Argentine-born Francis was seen at peace in an open casket as senior Catholics performed the centuries-old Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff ceremony.

ROSARY