Rosary prayer for late Pope Francis led by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti in St Peter’s Square

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, led a rosary prayer for the late Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at sunset on Monday evening.

Cardinals were joined by hundreds of faithful in the square who had gathered in The Vatican throughout the day, following the announcement of his Holiness's death on Monday morning.

“I think we all still have in our hearts the words that Pope Francis has addressed to us so many times, his invitation 'Do not forget to pray for me," Gambetti said during the prayer.

"And we want to do it clearly this evening, to accompany him in his Easter, in the faith in the risen Christ that we celebrate on this holy day of Easter. We know that death is not a door that closes, but the entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem."

The rosary was the first public commemoration in The Vatican since the Pope's passing and carried an atmosphere of grief and mourning.

The cause of the late Pope's death was confirmed on Monday evening as a stroke followed by irreversible heart failure.

He asked to be buried in the ground at St. Mary Major Basilica, home to Francis’ favourite icon of the Virgin Mary, to whom he was particularly devoted.

No date for the funeral has been announced.