Hundreds of thousands of mourners came out on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis - with the pontiff appearing to leave a couple of coded messages to his followers. The funeral took place in front of huge crowds at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican this morning.

World leaders and dignitaries, including US President Donald Trump and Prince William, were among those paying their respects. The 266th pontiff, who passed away at the age of 88 following a stroke, after weeks of ill-health, had been lying in state inside St Peter’s Basilica since Wednesday.

Today, after the funeral service, his coffin was taken for burial as thousands gathered to bid farewell.

The Catholic figurehead, who was born in Argentina, made advocating for the most vulnerable people in society a central message thoughout his time in the Vatican. Throughout his papacy, Francis called for kindness to be shown to migrants seeking a better life, and even followed Jesus' example by visiting prisons to wash inmates' feet.

One of his last acts before his passing - and the way in which he asked to be buried - have been interpreted as illustrative messages to society. And soon before he died, the pontiff reportedly used most of his remaining money, around €200,000 (some £171,510), to support a youth rehabilitation project inside a prison in Rome.

The pontiff broke a hundred-year tradition of Popes being buried within Vatican city, opting to be buried in Maria Maggiore Basilica, with less ceremony and opulence.

Francis, who famously eschewed many of the more luxurious trappings of the role, chose to be interred in a simple underground tomb "without particular decoration", with an inscription only of his papal name in Latin, Franciscus.

Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, the co-adjutor archpriest of the basilica told The Washington Post that Francis "meant for his tomb to respect and speak about his life — that is, of simplicity and essential things".

Before the coffin was sealed, a special note was placed inside. It described the pontiff as someone who "remained in the heart of the Church and of humanity" and recalled his time in Buenos Aires as a "simple and much-loved shepherd" who travelled by bus and cooked his own meals.

It concludes: "Francis has left everyone a wonderful testimony of humanity, a life of a saint and universal fatherhood."