Following the death of Pope Francis, the College of Cardinals has begun taking formal steps in preparation for his funeral and the selection of his successor. The Vatican announced Tuesday that the pope’s funeral will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square and will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals.

Public mourning will begin Wednesday, when the late pontiff’s casket is brought into St. Peter’s Basilica, allowing the faithful to pay their final respects to the first Latin American pope in history.

The cardinals gathered for their first official meeting in the Vatican’s synod hall to organize the coming days, as tributes poured in from around the globe mourning the passing of a transformative and widely admired figure.

Pope Francis, 88, passed away Monday after suffering a stroke that led to heart failure. He had recently returned to his Vatican residence after a five-week hospitalization for pneumonia. His final public appearance came just one day before his death, when he offered an Easter blessing and greeted worshippers from his popemobile in St. Peter’s Square.

In what now appears to be a poignant farewell, Francis addressed the faithful from the same balcony where he was introduced as pope on March 13, 2013—closing the circle on a papacy that lasted more than a decade and sought to refocus the Catholic Church on humility, inclusion, and service to the poor.

“He gave himself completely, right up to the end,” said Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian bishops’ conference and widely seen as a potential successor. “He taught us to meet everyone, speak to everyone, bless everyone.”

Images released Tuesday showed the late pope lying in repose in a wooden casket, dressed in red vestments and a bishop’s miter, as Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin prayed over him at the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta—the Vatican guesthouse where Francis had chosen to live instead of the traditional papal apartments.

In his final will, Francis requested to be buried at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, located outside Vatican City and home to his favorite icon of the Virgin Mary. Throughout his papacy, he routinely stopped there to pray before and after international trips. The Byzantine-style image of Mary holding the infant Jesus—who in turn holds a golden, jewel-studded book—was a constant spiritual touchstone for him.

True to that devotion, Francis visited the basilica one last time on April 12 to pray before the icon. Just weeks earlier, on March 23, after his hospital discharge, he had also stopped by to leave flowers in Mary’s honor.

U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have announced plans to attend Saturday’s funeral, joining dignitaries from around the world, including Argentine President Javier Milei, in bidding farewell to one of the most influential popes of the modern era.