Pope Francis’ wooden coffin will be sealed on Friday night, in a private rite that officially ends three days of his body lying in state at the Vatican.

Tens of thousands of mourners converged on the Vatican on Friday for a last chance to pay their respects to the late Pope Francis as a three-day-long period of lying in state entered its final few hours.

Three days of public viewing of Pope Francis’ body by ordinary mourners and statesmen alike have ended and the pontiff's coffin sealed.

As the Vatican prepares to end viewings at St Peter's Basilica at 19:00 local time (18:00 BST), the BBC has spoken to the last person in the queue to pay their respects to Pope Francis. Father Ramez Twal from Jersualem tells Outside Source: "It's amazing that we as a group from the Holy Land get to say the last goodbye for our late Pope Francis."

Pope Francis's death at the age of 88 means the Catholic Church must choose a new leader. Here's how cardinals elect the next pontiff at the conclave.

Pope Francis will be remembered for elevating women to positions of power within the Catholic Church. Vatican author, historian and guide Elizabeth Lev joins Chris Jansing at the Vatican to reflect on the changes the Pope made.

The papacy of Pope Francis ended with the same core doctrine for LGBTQ+ people that he inherited: The Catholic Church still rejected same-sex marriage and condemned any sexual relations between gay or lesbian partners as “intrinsically disordered.