The Latest Breaking News from Vatican

Here is exactly what will happen leading up to and during the late Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday.

Analysis: The entire reason for this insufferable ritual of official Washington has nothing to do with whether the president sits down for a meal with the press, writes Andrew Feinberg

Tens of thousands of people visited the Vatican on Friday for a last glimpse of Pope Francis's open coffin, before his funeral on Saturday. Italian authorities have stepped up security to protect the more than 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs expected to attend, alongside around 200,000 mourners.

Dozens of heads of state – some of whom had better relations with the pope than others – will be in attendance.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese paid over $660 million to settle clergy abuse claims against 508 victims during Cardinal Roger Mahony's tenure

President’s international engagements have set stage for explosive confrontations and Pope Francis’s funeral comes at an especially fraught moment

The coffin will be closed on Friday evening ahead of Saturday’s requiem mass.

More than 130,000 people have filed past the Pope's coffin as it lay in state in St Peter's Basilica since Wednesday

Speculation surrounding a conclave to elect a pope is a time-honored tradition