Tens of thousands of people have descended on Vatican City to pay their respects to Pope Francis, whose funeral will be held this Saturday.
But despite the global focus on events in Rome, few realise that England once produced a Pope.
Nicholas Breakspear reigned in the mid‑12th Century, taking the name Pope Adrian IV, and is still the only Briton to hold the position.
Despite his remarkable journey from humble beginnings in Bedmond, Hertfordshire, to its highest office, his story remains one of the Catholic Church's most extraordinary – and least known.
"Breakspear was a young, impoverished lad from England, with no family connections, no money, and it was quite remarkable that he ended up as Pope by the time he was 50," explains his biographer, Adrian Waddingham.
Breakspear's start in life was anything but remarkable, however.
He was born around 1100 in Bedmond, in the parish of Abbots Langley, near Watford, the son of a minor cleric at St Albans Abbey.
There is some debate as to whether or not Breakspear's father was married, leading some to believe the future Pope may have been illegitimate.
Breakspear sought to follow in his father's footsteps and enter the abbey, but was refused, perhaps because of his lack of education.
Undeterred, he went to France to study before joining a monastery where he advanced to become an abbot.
