Mourners are paying their respects to Pope Francis, whose body was moved from his Vatican residence to St Peter’s Basilica before his funeral on Saturday.

The Pope’s open coffin was carried on Wednesday morning in a solemn procession through St Peter’s Square where as many as 20,000 pilgrims had gathered, Vatican media said.

As the coffin crossed the square, bells tolled and crowds broke into applause – a traditional Italian sign of respect.

The Pope died on Monday aged 88 following a stroke and a battle with double pneumonia, for which he spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year. The first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church, he had held the role for 12 years.

On Wednesday, red-robed cardinals and white-clad priests walked the Pope’s coffin from his personal residence at the Casa Santa Marta guesthouse to the St Peter’s Basilica. The procession lasted a little under 40 minutes.

Swiss Guards, who are responsible for the Pope’s safety, escorted his coffin to the church’s altar.

His body will lie in state in the church until Friday evening. Public viewing began at 11:00 local time (10:00 BST) on Wednesday.

Crowds had been gathering since morning to pay their respects, with hundreds joining during the procession.

Luis and Macarena, from Mexico, had come to Rome for their honeymoon and hoped to see the Pope, who gives a special blessing to newlyweds. Luis told the BBC seeing the Pope’s final resting place would allow them to feel a connection.

“Pope Francis is a saint and he will bless us from heaven,” Luis said.

Mary Ellen, an American who lives in Italy, said she had come to the Vatican on an overnight train to “say goodbye”.

“I love Papa Francesco,” she said. “Because he’s humble, kind, he loves immigrants. I know he’s put up with a lot of difficult things in the Vatican. He’s fought against power and the power of the Vatican to be a true Christian, true Catholic.”

She said when she passes the coffin, she will be praying and will ask Pope Francis for help with her own work with immigrants.

Fredrik, who is from Ghana but came from Poland, said the Pope had “done his best” and “it is left to us to continue the good works”.

Eva Asensio, a Mexican on holiday in Italy, said she felt an affinity for the Argentine pope.

“We saw him as a good Pope – someone who supported everyone, no matter your sexual orientation, no matter where you came from. He united us,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Margaux, who is French and lives in Rome, said it was “powerful to live this.”

To her, Pope Francis meant “hope”, and his more progressive social views were “very important”, she said.

“I hope the next Pope will follow his path,” she said.

Dignitaries from all over the world, including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Prince William, will attend the funeral on Saturday.

Pope Francis left clear instructions that he wanted a smaller ceremony in keeping with his simpler tastes as pontiff. He had arranged for a benefactor to pay for it all.

Unlike the vast majority of his predecessors, he will not be buried in St Peter’s, but in a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in central Rome, beneath a tombstone inscribed only with his name.

Before being moved to St Peter’s, Pope Francis had been lying in an open coffin in the chapel of his home, flanked by Swiss Guards and cardinals in prayer.

His last public appearance was on Easter Sunday, where from a wheelchair, he delivered brief remarks to the masses gathered in St Peter’s Square. He then greeted worshippers and blessed babies as he was driven in a car through the crowds.

His Papal apartments have been sealed with wax – marking the start of the period known as the Sede Vacante – or empty seat – which continues until a new head of the church is elected.

Additional reporting by Jorge Perez