Maria

Francis was particularly devoted to the Virgin Mary, and Santa Maria Maggiore was the first church to be dedicated to her when it was built in the 4th Century.

Meanwhile, the Pope's coffin was carried through Rome in a slow procession to the church of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial.

He was also a devotee of the Virgin Mary and as such, he chose to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore, which sits outside the Vatican walls in the centre of Rome.

Softly at first then louder, as if to encourage those who joined in timidly, the nuns broke into Ave Maria.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the killing as a "terrorist attack", without providing further details, according to Russian Telegram channel Smotri.