THOUSANDS of people across Kent are attending special prayer services and requiem masses to mark the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

A memorial evensong service is being held at Canterbury Cathedral which the Pope visited in 1982. Worshippers at Aylesford Priory, near Maidstone, will attend a requiem mass at 12 noon.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is attending the funeral in Rome. So is Father Joseph Chalmers, the Friar General of Aylesford Priory.

Other services will be taking place at churches across the county.