The Funeral: The funeral of Pope John Paul II tomorrow will draw the biggest gathering of the powerful and the humble in modern times.
The Pope who travelled the globe will bring together millions from around the world to witness his final journey.
Four kings, five queens, at least 70 presidents and prime ministers and more than 14 leaders of other religions will attend alongside what the Vatican expects will be two million of the "faithful" - the largest number of pilgrims to converge on St Peter's Square in its history.
Few occasions can attract the US president, George W. Bush, to the same event as President Mohammed Khatami of Iran - the country Bush accused of being part of an "axis of evil".
The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has postponed his wedding for 24 hours to attend the ceremony.
Funerals of respected world leaders can leave their mark on history and the funeral Mass to honour the pontiff with the third-longest reign will be no exception.
Millions of Iranians crowded into Tehran for the funeral of Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, but few world dignitaries were there.
The funeral in 1980 of Yugoslavia's Josip Broz Tito brought together for the first time Cold War warriors such as Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev and Britain's Margaret Thatcher, but none of the masses from around the world descended on Belgrade.
The authorities in Rome are taking no chances with security and have erected an impressive defence shield, including a no-fly zone and anti-aircraft missiles.
Catholic kings and queens will join Protestant and Muslim monarchs. Among the notables will be King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain - heirs of the so-called "Catholic Kings" of the 15th century who sent their conquistadors to colonise the new world for their popes.
+Roman Catholicism remains the biggest faith among Latin American countries and most of their presidents are travelling to the Vatican. Brazil is the world's most populous Catholic country and some believe that the next pope could be from Latin America.
The Pope's pleas against the US-led invasion of Iraq earned him praise and respect in the Muslim world as a man of peace.
Diplomacy apart, the presence of Khatami, an Islamic cleric, at the funeral may also be governed by the drive he shared with the Pope for inter-faith dialogue. Khatami, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurie will be sitting in a Christian basilica with the president of the Jewish state, Moshe Katsav.
The boy who grew up with Jewish friends in his native Poland to become Pope was mourned as a man who had done more than any other to reconcile the Christian and Jewish faiths after centuries of enmity.
In life, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexiy II, declined to meet the Pope, and no one expected him to travel to Rome. But, as a mark of respect, the patriarch's office said it was prepared to put aside the rift stemming from the Great Schism of 1054 between the eastern and western branches of Christianity and send a delegation.
Hundreds of thousands of people from the former eastern bloc - not least masses of his compatriots from Poland - will be heading to the Vatican to honour the Pope who played a major role in the demise of communism.