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The Vatican has released images of Pope Francis in his open coffin, adorned in a red robe with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary in his hand.
The images were captured in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, his residence at the Vatican.
“Death is not the end but the start of something,” the pontiff wrote shortly before his death, in the preface of a book by Cardinal Angelo Scola which is due to be published soon.
The first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church died on Easter Monday aged 88, after suffering from double pneumonia in recent weeks.
He died following a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, the Vatican said.
The pictures have been released as Cardinals as set to meet this morning to discuss the funeral - which dozens of world leaders and hundreds of thousands of worshippers are expected to attend.
Pope Francis’ final wishes expressed that he wanted to buried at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, rather than the usual St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
His will specified a request to be buried "in the ground, without particular decoration" but with the inscription of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.
Tuesday’s meeting will discuss urgent decisions including when the late Pope’s body will be moved to St Peter's Basilica and the date and time of the funeral.
They are also believed to be discussing when the conclave selecting the next pope will be held, and where the 135 Cardinals travelling to the Vatican for the conclave will be lodged.
Pope Francis, originally from Argentina and the first pope from Latin America, led the 1.4 billion-member church since 2013.
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