Cardinals have taken their first decisions following the death of Pope Francis, setting Saturday as the date for his funeral and allowing ordinary faithful to begin paying their final respects starting Wednesday, when his casket is brought into St Peter’s Basilica.

The cardinals met for the first time today in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world, grieving history’s first Latin American pope.

The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10 am in St Peter’s Square (6pm AEST), to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

US President Donald Trump has announced he and first lady Melania Trump plan to attend Saturday’s funeral. Argentine President Javier Milei is also expected.

Francis died Monday at age 88 after suffering a stroke that put him in a coma and led his heart to fail. He had been recovering in his apartment after being hospitalised for five weeks with pneumonia.

He made his last public appearance on Sunday, delivering an Easter blessing and making what would be his final greeting to followers from his popemobile, looping around St Peter’s Square.

In retrospect, his Easter appearance from the same loggia where he was introduced to the world as the first pope from the Americas on March 13, 2013, was a perfect bookend to a 12-year papacy that sought to shake up the church and return it to its Gospel-mandated mission of caring for the poorest.

“He gave himself to the end,” said Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the head of the Italian bishops’ conference and considered a possible contender to be next pope.

“To go out to meet everyone, speak to everyone, teach us to speak to everyone, to bless everyone.”

The first images of Francis’ body were released on Tuesday, showing him in the wooden casket, in red vestments and his bishop’s miter, with the Vatican secretary of state praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived and died.

In his final will, Francis confirmed he would be buried at St Mary Major Basilica, which is outside the Vatican and home to his favourite icon of the Virgin Mary.

Before and after every foreign trip, Francis would go to the basilica to pray before the Byzantine-style painting that features an image of Mary, draped in a blue robe, holding the infant Jesus, who in turn holds a jewelled golden book.

Francis stopped by the basilica on his way home from the Gemelli hospital on March 23, after his 38-day hospital stay, to deliver flowers to be placed before the icon.

He returned on April 12 to pray before the Madonna for the last time.