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, which will be attended by world leaders including US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as royals and red-robed cardinals from across the globe.

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.

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