The Vatican has released images of Pope Francis being laid out in an open coffin ahead of the special historic ceremony officially declaring his death.

Francis died Monday after suffering a stroke that led to irreversible heart failure following a weeks-long hospitalization with pneumonia. He was 88.

The pontiff’s body was placed in a simple, wooden, zinc-lined coffin late Monday, with Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo — the “chamberlain” who essentially acts as head of the Vatican between the end of a papacy and the start of the next — reading the official Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff aloud in an intimate ceremony. 

A red ribbon and wax seal was also placed on the door of the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace, as well as the Chapel of Santa Marta, where he had lived.

In images shared by the Vatican on Tuesday, the pontiff can be seen lying in his vestments with a rosary in his hands.

Ceremonial guards can be seen standing on both sides of the coffin as Vatican officials and members of the pontifical household attended the private viewing.

The official lying-in-state period is set to begin Wednesday, in which the public is welcome to enter St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their final respects.

“The transfer of the body of the Holy Father to the Vatican Basilica for the homage of all the faithful could take place on Wednesday morning,” said Matteo Bruni, the Vatican spokesman.

Cardinals gathered in the Vatican on Tuesday morning to kickstart funeral plans, as well as the elaborate ceremony which marks the end of the papacy.

The process to select a new pope — called a conclave — generally takes place between 15 and 20 days after the pontiff’s death.

The first meeting of the Congregation of Cardinals is expected to commence Tuesday morning in the Vatican’s synod hall.

Later, the congregation will determine when the pope’s body can be moved into St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing.

Once there, his coffin will not be placed on an elevated bier. Instead, the public will see it facing the pews alongside the Pasqual candle.

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As for the funeral, Pope Francis will be buried Saturday, according to instructions he approved last year.

He opted to break from tradition and be buried at the nearby Basilica of St. Mary Major as opposed to St. Peter’s Basilica, where many popes are buried. Francis always said he felt specially connected to St. Mary’s and always visited it.

He had also made plans for his body to be placed in the simple coffin — a stark contrast to the three wooden coffins previous pontiffs had opted for.

“As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial,” the pope said in his final testament ahead of his death.

“Throughout my life, and during my ministry as a priest and bishop, I have always entrusted myself to the mother of our Lord, the blessed Virgin Mary.”

He continued, “For this reason, I ask that my mortal remains rest — awaiting the day of the resurrection — in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

“I wish my final earthly journey to end precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary, where I would always stop to pray at the beginning and end of every apostolic journey, confidently entrusting my intentions to the Immaculate Mother, and giving thanks for her gentle and maternal care.”

Such simple wishes were in keeping with the man, experts said.

“Francis made it very clear that he didn’t want his body put on display, he didn’t want to be idolised, so there will be none of that sort of ritual,” said Chris White, the Vatican correspondent for National Catholic Reporter, to the Guardian.

“I think he was very conscious, as he was throughout his whole papacy, of the theatrics of [the Vatican], and especially with a funeral, when all the eyes of the world are on the Catholic church – he wants to send a signal not of riches, not of wealth, but of simplicity.”

As for the funeral procession, “It won’t be a long, elaborate procession,” White said.

“Past popes in decades and centuries gone by have had their body taken from village to village. Francis will have none of that, it will be a very simple ceremony.”