Pope Francis is due to celebrate Easter - the most important feast day in the Catholic calendar - with an open-air Mass and a global peace message and blessing.
The pontiff was scheduled to lead a 10am (6pm, AEST) service in St Peter's Square and deliver the Urbi et Orbi (to the city and to the world) blessing at noon.
The Urbi et Orbi, which also offers a pardon for sins, is imparted from the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica, usually at Easter, Christmas and after the election of a new pope.
With Easter, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The days leading up to it are for the Catholic Church punctuated by several solemn ceremonies.
On Thursday, Francis washed the feet of 12 inmates of a prison near Rome, imitating the gesture Jesus is believed to have performed on the 12 apostles.
On Friday, the pope presided over the Via Crucis (Stations or Way of the Cross) procession at the Colosseum, and on the eve of Easter, he celebrated a Vigil Mass in St Peter's Basilica.
