Pope Benedict funeral latest: Pope Francis leading funeral Mass for his predecessor

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His coffin is being carried out of the square and back into St Peter's Basilica, where it will then be taken to its final resting place.

As his coffin disappears inside, the crowd applauses. 

The cypress wood coffin will be placed inside a zinc one and then an outer oak casket. 

Benedict will be laid to rest in the crypt in the grottos underneath the basilica, at his own request. 

Pope Francis has been a more liberal figure at the Vatican than his now-late predecessor.

One example of Benedict's controversial views came in a 2019 essay in which he blamed the church's sexual abuse scandals on the sexual revolution of the 1960s and "homosexual cliques" among priests. 

This was published two months after an unprecedented Vatican summit on tackling clerical sexual abuse.

Pope Francis, in contrast to Benedict, blamed the scandals on a clerical culture that elevated priests above the laity.

Benedict had failed to act against four priests accused of child sexual abuse during his time as archbishop of Munich and Freising, a German investigation published last January found.

The pope is asking God to console the Church and to receive the soul of Benedict. 

"We now offer our final farewell to Pope Emeritus Benedict and commend him to God, our merciful and loving father," he says.

He prepares the incense to cense Benedict's coffin as holy water is sprinkled onto it by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

Our Europe correspondent Adam Parsons, in Vatican City, has noted the "warmth with which the pope has reflected on Pope Benedict". 

He called his predecessor a "fearless preacher" and attempted to "establish the significance of Benedict within the Catholic Church's history", Parsons says. 

Pope Francis had "made it clear that he feels nothing but warmth and respect towards his predecessor" in an attempt to "allay stories of rivalry that have proliferated over the years". 

Sources had suggested Francis may have been undermined by the presence of Benedict within the Vatican following his retirement, but Parsons says the pope will hope this will "draw a line under those claims".

Christians are coming together now and offering peace, as part of an act of communion. 

The bread and wine has also been consecrated. 

The priests move amongst the congregation and begin to distribute the bread, taking wafers and placing them upon the lips and tongues of those who have come forward. 

The priests take the bread and dip it into the wine.

First, the Offertory Chant is heard, before the ceremony moves on to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. 

A reflection will take place on the last supper held by Jesus, as per the events in the Bible. 

It is part of the purification of everyone for Mass itself, our commentator Alastair Bruce explains.

Bread and wine is shared, symbolising the body and blood of Jesus. 

Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, is the celebrant standing at the altar. 

As anyone watching our live stream above will have heard commentator Alastair Bruce saying, the reigning pope, Francis, has been in the unusual position of being able to call on his predecessor, who still lived within the Vatican, for counsel.

Ahead of the funeral yesterday, Francis praised Pope Benedict for his "acute and gentle thought" and called Benedict a "great master of catechesis."

"His acute and gentle thought was not self-referential, but ecclesial, because he always wanted to accompany us in the encounter with Jesus," Francis said.

From left to right: Sofia, former Queen of Spain; King Philippe of Belgium; Queen Mathilde of Belgium; Giorgia Meloni, prime minister of Italy; Sergio Mattarella, president of Italy.

The UK's representative? It's the secretary of state for education, Gillian Keegan, but perhaps unsurprisingly the AP and Reuters photographers have yet to hone in on her.