Francis did away with that sort of viewing. Instead, a procession brought his coffin on Wednesday directly to St. Peter’s Basilica, where a public viewing is taking place. Francis’ body, dressed in papal vestments, his head covered with a white bishop’s miter, is lying in state to allow tens of thousands of mourners to bid farewell.

The pontiff’s death initiated a well-structured series of rituals designed to mourn the loss of the 1.3 billion-member church’s leader and to ensure stability with the selection of a new pope.