The basilica will be kept open until at least midnight on Thursday to allow the faithful to mourn. Francis' funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) in St. Peter’s Square, after which the Vatican press office is expected to release details of the conclave that will elect the next pontiff.

In the streets around the Vatican, where Pope Francis used to make impromptu outings, some of the shopkeepers are mourning the man they knew, not as the leader of a church or head of state, but as an ordinary person.

Pope Francis is breaking with tradition when it comes to where he will be laid to rest – choosing a light-filled basilica with an intriguing history instead of the grottoes of the Vatican.

Francis' funeral will take place Saturday morning at St. Peter's Basilica. The viewing of the casket of Pope Francis has ended, and his casket has been closed, according to the Vatican press office.

PIX11's Henry Rosoff looks back at the life and legacy of Pope Francis with Professor Natalia Imperatori-Lee, the Department Chairperson of Religion & Philosophy at Manhattan University. They discuss how he made history as the first Latin American and Jesuit Pope.