Long queues at St, Peter’s as public farewell to Pope Francis continues
Massive crowds have been pouring into the Vatican to say their final goodbyes to Pope Francis, who passed away earlier this week. St Peter’s Basilica stayed open through most of the night to accommodate the wave of visitors coming to see the late pope lying in state.
According to Vatican officials, around 20,000 people visited the basilica within the first eight hours on Wednesday alone. Instead of closing at midnight, the church kept its doors open until 5:30am on Thursday and reopened at 7:00am, allowing even more mourners to pay tribute.
High security planned as leaders prepare to attend state funeral
Italy is now preparing for a large-scale security operation ahead of the funeral, which will take place outside St Peter’s. Numerous global leaders are expected to attend, including US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Britain’s Prince William is also among those confirmed, while Russia has chosen to send its culture minister.
Italy’s civil protection authorities are expecting hundreds of thousands to descend on Rome, especially as the funeral coincides with a public holiday weekend.
Francis remembered as a humble reformer and global spiritual voice
Pope Francis, who led the Catholic Church since 2013, passed away on Monday at the age of 88 after suffering a stroke. He had only recently been discharged from hospital following a five-week battle with double pneumonia. At the time of his death, doctors had advised him to rest for two months, but he continued public engagements, including an appearance on Easter Sunday.
He died at his residence, Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican. His casket was first placed in the Santa Marta chapel for internal clergy and officials to pay their respects. On Wednesday, it was moved to St Peter’s Basilica in a solemn procession led by cardinals and Swiss Guards.
Visitors share emotional moments and tributes
Mourners queued for hours on Wednesday, many of them visibly moved. Pope Francis was dressed in traditional papal attire, a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes, and held a rosary in his hands. People were allowed only a few seconds to pass by the casket, but many still managed to capture the moment on their phones.
Some came from far and wide. Federico Rueda, a 46-year-old from Argentina, stood proudly in his national football jersey and said he felt proud to bid farewell to ‘a very worthy Argentine pope.’ Leobardo Guevara, 24, from Mexico, draped in his country’s flag, shared that he felt “a sense of peace” walking past the pope’s body.
Funeral plans and succession process
The funeral will be followed by Pope Francis’s final journey to his chosen resting place, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, one of his favourite churches. As per his wishes, he will be buried in a simple grave with just one word marking the tomb: Franciscus.
Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the conclave, the secretive process where cardinals elect the next pope. This will begin between 15 and 20 days after Francis’s death. Only cardinals under the age of 80 can vote, currently numbering around 135.
The Vatican has confirmed that the traditional nine days of mourning, known as the novemdiales, will start on Saturday and end on May 4. A meeting of all cardinals, regardless of age, was scheduled for Thursday morning, though Vatican officials have clarified that no conclave date will be announced until after the funeral.
