Pope Francis has offered his condolences to the family of the late president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. Pope Francis sent a message of condolence to his daughter Irina Gorbachev on Wednesday.

"I remember with gratitude his far-sighted commitment to harmony and fraternity among peoples and to the advancement of his own country at a time of momentous change, and the cornerstone of the persecution the Catholic Church suffered under the regime of the former Soviet Union. May his soul find eternal peace from the good and merciful God," the Pope said.

Gorbachev's body will be displayed in the Hall of Columns inside the House of Unions in Moscow, where Joseph Stalin's body was displayed in 1953, and then buried in Moscow's Central Novodevichy Cemetery, Tass news agency quoted Vladimir Polyakov, press secretary of the Gorbachev Foundation, as saying.

Founded in the 16th century, Novotevichy Cemetery is home to many famous people, including Gorbachev's political rival and first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, and Gorbachev's wife.

Among the leaders of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev is the only one buried here. Others were buried near the Kremlin walls in Red Square.

It has not been decided whether it will be cremated with official honours. Public access is allowed for funeral ceremonies.