Pope Francis funeral latest: Outrage over mourners taking selfies with casket as thousands pay respects at the Vatican

Pope Francis, the 266th Supreme Pontiff and the first Latin American and first Jesuit to lead the Roman Catholic Church, was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17 December 1936 in the Flores district of Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of Italian immigrants.

His father, Mario, whose family had left their homeland when Benito Mussolini came to power, was an accountant employed by the railways and his mother, Regina Sivori, a housewife devoted to raising the couple’s five children.

As a boy, Jorge Bergoglio attended the Wilfrid Baron de los Santos Angeles school in Ramos Mejia before earning a qualification as a chemical technician from the Escuela Tecnica Industrial 27 Hipolito Yrigoyen, which enabled him to give up his part-time jobs as a bouncer and janitor to work at the Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory, a food processing plant.

Pope Francis has decreed in his will that he be buried in a simple underground tomb in St Mary Major Basilica.

The will specified the late pontiff wanted to be buried “in the ground, without particular decoration” but with the inscription of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.

In his final testament, the pope expressed his wish to be buried in Rome, and not at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican like many previous pontiffs.

Since Pope Francis’s death on Easter Monday, leaders from around the world have shared their tributes to the late pontiff, as 1.39 billion Catholics across the globe enter mourning.

Cardinals congregated the following day to establish the date of the funeral ahead of the papal conclave in which a new pope will be selected.

The pontiff had broken from tradition as he requested to be buried outside of Vatican grounds at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, with the inscription of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.

Steffie Banatvala and Bryony Gooch report:

Mourners have criticised fellow visitors to St Peter’s Basilica for using their phones to take selfies alongside the body of the late Pope as he lies in state.

Janine Venables, a 53-year-old from Pontypridd told the MailOnline: “What did surprise me is the fact that earlier we were told no photos in the Sistine Chapel and here people were getting their phone out and doing selfies with the coffin. I did think that was a bit in poor taste and I’m surprised no one stopped them.”

Another visitor was reported as complaining that people had been “ignoring warnings” and taking photos instead of paying their respects properly, adding that it was “sad to see such disrespectful behaviour”.

The outlet cited a Vatican source as saying: “It would be good if people could try and remember where they are and have a little respect but there’s little else that can be done.”

In an interview with Repubblica, Pope Francis’s doctor Sergio Alfieri said the late pontiff had shared one final regret with him.

While he was happy to have visited the prisoners on April 17, he wished he had been able to perform a foot-washing ritual for the Church’s celebration of Holy Thursday.

“He regretted he could not wash the feet of the prisoners,” said the doctor. “‘This time I couldn’t do it’ was the last thing he said to me.”

Ireland’s postal service is offering to send Mass or sympathy cards to the Vatican for free for people who wish to pay their respects to Pope Francis.

Post offices in Ireland have received queries from the public looking for advice on what was the correct address and stamp to use. In response, An Post said it would offer the service for free and send cards to the Vatican from Ireland in one batch in three weeks’ time.

An Post said: “Cards may be posted to the following PO Box for free until May 14 and An Post will ensure they are delivered directly to the Vatican: ‘Cards to the Vatican, PO Box 13812, FREEPOST, Dublin 1’.”

The head of Pope Francis’s medical team has revealed new details about the pontiff’s final moments.

The 88-year-old died quickly on the morning of Easter Monday, Dr Sergio Alfieri, who oversaw the Pope’s treatment for pneumonia earlier this year at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, said in interviews published on Thursday.

Francis died without undue suffering and medical intervention could not have saved him, Dr Alfieri said.

Joshua McElwee has the full report:

More than 50,000 people paid their respects to the late Pope during the first 12 hours of public viewing as he lies in state in St Peter’s Basilica, according to the latest figures from the Vatican.

Public viewing began at 11am on Wednesday, with the basilica remaining open all night and closing for just one hour before viewing resumed at 7am on Thursday due to the vast number of mourners who gathered to pay their respects.

Pope Francis’ coffin is due to be sealed in rite on Friday evening, in a ceremony presided over by cardinal Kevin Farrell.

The liturgical Rite of Sealing will be attended by several cardinals and Holy See officials, according to the Vatican News website, ahead of the late pontiff’s funeral on Saturday.

The rite will mark the end of public viewing, with tens of thousands having already flocked to witness the late Pope lying in state in St Peter’s Basilica.