ROME - Thousands of mourners, including many world leaders, will gather at the Vatican on Friday to pay their final respects at the funeral Mass for Pope John Paul II.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will represent Turkey at the funeral.
College of Cardinals Dean Joseph Ratzinger will perform the funeral mass.
Nearly 4 million people are expected to attend the funeral in St. Peter`s Square, along with hundreds of dignitaries, including U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Jacques Chirac of France, President Mohammad Khatami of Iran and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The multilingual mass is expected to last longer than two hours. About 320 priests will distribute communion to pilgrims in St. Peter`s Square.
After the public funeral ceremony, the pope`s body will be carried to the crypt in St. Peter`s for a private ceremony.
Earlier, cardinals decided to bury John Paul II in a grotto beneath St. Peter`s Basilica. He will be laid to rest in a crypt once occupied by the body of Pope John XXIII, who was disinterred and moved to the basilica`s main floor in 2001.
The 84-year-old pope died on Saturday, and his body has laid in state since Monday in the basilica. At least 2 million people are believed to have paid tribute to the pope since then. Some waited in line for up to 12 hours for their chance to see the pope`s body for just a few seconds.
Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to return to Turkey after paying a visit to Turkish Embassy in the Vatican.