Pope John Paul II to be beatified today

Today’s ceremony in St Peter's Square is an important step towards his sainthood and is official recognition from the church for his life-long work.

John Paul's successor, Pope Benedict XVI, will pronounce a Latin formula declaring one of the most popular popes in history a "blessed" of the Church.

It is expected to be the biggest event in the Italian capital since the late pope's funeral in 2005.

Some 90 official delegations from around the world, including members of five European royal families and 16 heads of state, will attend the beatification.

They include Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who has been widely criticised for human rights abuses in his country.

Mugabe is banned from travelling to the European Union, but the Vatican - a sovereign state - is not a member of the bloc.

Groups carrying national flags and singing songs have been gathering in the square, which is bedecked with posters and photos of the late pope.

Up to 200,000 people attended a prayer vigil on Saturday evening in the Circus Maximus, the huge oval once used by the ancient Romans for chariot races. Some Rome churches threw their doors open all night to give pilgrims a space to pray.

A place of honour is reserved for Sister Marie Simon-Pierre Normand, a French nun who suffered from Parkinson's disease but whose inexplicable cure has been attributed to John Paul's intercession with God to perform a miracle, thus permitting the beatification to go ahead.

The Vatican will have to attribute another miracle to John Paul's intercession after the beatification in order for him to be declared a saint.

Pope John Paul's coffin was exhumed on Friday from the crypts below St Peter's Basilica and will be placed in front of the main altar.

After the beatification mass, it will remain there and the basilica will remain open until all visitors who want to view it have done so.