Photos: From mightiest to humblest, hundreds of thousands gather for Pope Francis’ funeral

VATICAN CITY AP From a few of the world s most of powerful leaders to those on society s margins whom Pope Francis reliably made a point to minister to hundreds of thousands of people were expected at the Vatican Saturday for the funeral rites for the late pontiff Related Articles Pope Francis funeral Watch live from Vatican City Pope Francis funeral is set to begin in a ceremony he helped reimagine How to watch Pope Francis funeral Where to stream and what to expect Apple aims to build bulk iPhones for US in India by end- This day in History April conference opens to create the Charter of the United Nations U S President Donald Trump and selected other heads of state and reigning sovereigns publicized their plans to trip to Rome from around the globe The Vatican noted that a group of the poor and the needy would be on the efforts of St Mary Major Basilica to pay homage to the first Jesuit and first Latin American pope before his burial in the church The Holy See press office added that the poor had a special place in Francis heart He had chosen for his papacy the name of the medieval Italian saint who famously renounced his family s wealth when he joined the church Already long lines of the faithful have paid their homage to Francis who died Monday at age over the three days that his body was lying in state in a simple wooden coffin inside St Peter s Basilica From the beginning of his papacy in Francis won over a large number of around the world Catholic or not with his advocacy for refugees and the milieu His legacy was more mixed on the topics of clergy sexual abuse and LGBTQ outreach which made waves for increasing inclusion but selected criticized for not going far enough A nun smiles as she waits ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter s Square at the Vatican Saturday April AP Photo Emilio Morenatti Faithful one holding a placard with the Ukrainian flag and reading Francis pray for us arrive for the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter s Square at the Vatican Saturday April AP Photo Alessandra Tarantino Nuns and other pilgrims look for their seats in St Peter s Square ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican Saturday April AP Photo Markus Schreiber Police officers speak in St Peter s Square ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican Saturday April AP Photo Andreea Alexandru A faithful wearing a flag from Argentina arrives for the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter s Square at the Vatican Saturday April AP Photo Gregorio Borgia Nuns and pilgrims make their way to St Peter s Square ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican Saturday April AP Photo Andreea Alexandru Faithful and Swiss Guards are backdropped by St Peter s Basilica ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter s Square at the Vatican Saturday April AP Photo Alessandra Tarantino