Believer and non-believer, rich and poor, world leaders and pilgrims alike will come together in the Basilica of St Peter in Rome this morning for the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
Some four million visitors are expected for an unprecedented funeral that in itself represents a remarkable testimony to the legacy of a Pope whose charismatic appeal went far beyond the bounds of the worldwide Roman Catholic family.
Sitting on the right-hand side of the altar on the steps of St Peter's will be a galaxy of world leaders, representing at least 100 countries, including US president Bush, King Abdullah II of Jordan, the secretary of the Arab League, Amr Mussa, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Iranian president Mohammed Khatami, Palestinian prime minister Abu Ala, UN secretary general Kofi Annan, European Commission president José Manuel Barroso, Britain's Prince Charles and prime minister Tony Blair, Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, in breach of a European Union travel ban, and many others besides.
Leaders of other religions will include the head of the worldwide Anglican communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams; the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I; several leading figures from Orthodox churches in eastern Europe, the Armenian church, Lutheran and other Protestant churches and the Chief Rabbinate director general, Oded Viner.
Representing Ireland will be President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Tánaiste Mary Harney and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny are also attending.
It was disclosed yesterday that in his 15-page testament, Pope John Paul left no personal possessions. He asked that any personal notes be burned. The testimony, which reads in parts like a diary of his thoughts, shows he considered resigning in 2000 after leading the church into the third millennium after Christ. He also asked that church leaders in Poland be consulted on his funeral and burial arrangements but later changed his mind and said his cardinals should take these decisions themselves.
And so the deacon of the College of Cardinals, the German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, one of John Paul II's closest collaborators, will preside over this morning's three-hour ceremony.
Due to start at 10am local time (9am Irish time), the televised ceremony will for the most part follow the lines of a conventional funeral mass, even if it will feature some uniquely Vatican rituals. For example, according to tradition, the Swiss guards will kneel for the consecration of the host, dipping their halberds with their right hands and saluting with their left. The service itself, Ordo Exesequiarum Romani Pontificis, much of it in Latin and accompanied by Gregorian chant, will end with the Pope's coffin being carried into the basilica from the steps by black-clad pallbearers.
Only a few senior Vatican figures, including Cardinal Ratzinger, will be able to follow the coffin as it moves through the basilica and then passes through the "door of death", to the left side of the main altar, and on down to the crypt.
The Pope will be buried in the traditional three-tiered coffin of cypress, zinc and walnut, weighing an estimated 406kg (64 stone). In a short, private ceremony in the basilica prior to the funeral Mass, a white silk veil will be placed over the Pope's face while a small bag of medallions, his papal mitre as well as a "rogito" or funeral oration, will all be placed in the cypress coffin alongside him. After the funeral Mass, Pope John Paul II will be buried in the "bare earth" of the crypt of St Peter's, close to where John XXIII now lies.
St Peter's remained open until midnight last night to accommodate those pilgrims, many of them Poles, who were still arriving in the Holy City.