Pope Francis funeral live updates: Tens of thousands of mourners gather for Novendiales mass

Tens of thousands of people have turned out for a mass in St Peter’s Square on the second day of the official mourning period for Pope Francis. Follow the updates.

Tens of thousands of worshippers gathered at St Peter’s Square for mass on Sunday to honour Pope Francis on the second day of the official mourning period for the late pontiff.

The sun shone brightly on St Peter’s Square that was filled with religious leaders and mourners as well as many more onlookers in the streets outside Vatican City who took part in prayers and hymns during the service.

Many people also queued outside the Basilica of St Mary Major near the Colosseum in Rome to ensure they were among the first to view Pope Francis’s tomb.

The mass was presided over by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

In keeping with ancient custom, each day, until May 4, will include a requiem mass that focuses on a particular community or group.

Vatican employees and their families have been invited to Sunday’s Novendiales mass and tens of thousands of young people taking part in the Jubilee of Teenagers, which had previously been scheduled to include the canonisation of teenager Carlo Acutis, will also attend.

It comes the day after 400,000 people packed St Peter’s Square and lined the streets of Rome for the funeral of the first Latin American leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Following his funeral mass on Saturday, the Pope’s coffin was taken into the entrance of the Pauline Chapel inside the Basilica of Saint Mary Major and at 1pm (9pm AEST) the rite of the burial of Francis began.

Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell led the rite which was attended by a small contingency from the Office for Liturgical Celebrations and also family members of Francis.

The process took about 30 minutes.

Vatican City is in the process of removing much of the scaffolding, barriers and road closures that brought the centre of Rome to a standstill on Saturday and still much of the city is heaving with the influx of people flocking to the Italian capital to say goodbye to the 266th pontiff.

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