The Vatican said on Thursday a group of "poor and needy" had been invited to welcome the pope's casket to Rome's St Mary Major - a church 4km from St Peter's where, in a break from tradition, Francis wanted to be buried.
"The poor have a privileged place in the heart of God," the Vatican said.
The heart of Rome is expected to be closed to traffic on Saturday to allow the funeral motorcade to make its way slowly to St Mary Major, giving Romans a chance to say a final farewell.
His tomb will be in a niche in a side aisle of the basilica, with just the word "Franciscus," his name in Latin, engraved on the marble.
With AAP.
