More than 50,000 people have queued in the last 24 hours to pay their respects to Pope Francis at St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican has said.
On Thursday morning, the queue to see the Pope, who is in an open coffin, stretched out of St Peter’s Square and down the street – the longest the line had become since his body was moved to lie in state on Wednesday.
Entry to the church in Vatican City had been due to stop at midnight local time (22:00 GMT), but opening hours were extended to accommodate large crowds.
The pontiff died on Monday at the age of 88 after suffering a stroke. He had spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year with double pneumonia.
Pope Francis was the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church and held the role for 12 years.
Red-robed cardinals and white-clad priests escorted the Pope’s coffin from his residence to the basilica on Wednesday.
Bells tolled during the 40-minute procession, while the crowd broke into applause – a traditional Italian sign of respect.
Swiss Guards, who are responsible for the Pope’s safety, escorted his coffin to the church’s altar.
Reuters Pope Francis’ body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter’s Basilica on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. Reuters
Public viewing began at 11:00 local time on Wednesday. By mid-afternoon, tens of thousands of people lined the square.
The church was supposed to close at midnight, but police told the BBC that it would stay open all night so that crowds gathered on the square could file past the coffin.
“I think the Pope was an amazing man, so I wanted to see him,” 13-year-old Edoardo, waiting after midnight with his parents, told the BBC. “I am really sorry. But I think maybe he will enjoy heaven.”
Viewing continued until 05:30 on Thursday, then closed for an hour and a half, before reopening at 07:00. The crowd became so large that some turned away.
“It looks like five or six hours, so we’ll come back later,” Catherine, from Birmingham, said.
The Pope’s body will lie in state in the church until Friday evening, when his coffin will be sealed during a liturgical rite at 20:00, the Vatican said.
The ceremony will be overseen by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is the Pope’s “camerlengo”, or chamberlain, and runs the Vatican until a new Pope is chosen.
(BBC)
