More than 50,000 people have queued in the last 24 hoursto 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.
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.
Luis and Macarena, from Mexico, had come to Rome for their honeymoon and hoped to see the Pope for a special blessing. Luis said seeing the Pope’s final resting place would help them to feel a connection.
“Pope Francis is a saint, and he will bless us from heaven,” Luis said.
Mary Ellen, an American who lives in Italy, said she had come to the Vatican on an overnight train to “say goodbye”.
“I love Papa Francesco,” she said. “He’s humble, kind, and he loves immigrants. I know he’s put up with a lot of difficult things in the Vatican. He’s fought against power and the power of the Vatican to be a true Christian, true Catholic.”
Inside St Peter’s on Wednesday, the atmosphere was quiet and solemn as some people kneeled and prayed, before slowly moving on.
Many lingered to admire the staggering beauty of the basilica.
Two women who had waited for five hours to see the Pope said it was important to them to say goodbye to the pontiff.
“All these years I followed all he did and it’s as if I travelled all over the world with him, even if I was just at home. He liked going everywhere and prioritises the poor,” one woman said.
Fredrik, who is from Ghana but travelled from Poland, said the Pope had “done his best” and “it is left to us to continue the good works”.
Eva Asensio, a Mexican on holiday in Italy, said she felt an affinity for the Pope.
“We saw him as a good Pope – someone who supported everyone, no matter your sexual orientation, no matter where you came from. He united us,” she said with tears in her eyes.
Margaux, who is French and lives in Rome, said it was “powerful to live this”.
To her, Pope Francis meant “hope”, and his more progressive social views were “very important”.
“I hope the next Pope will follow his path,” she said.
Dignitaries from all over the world, including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Prince William, will attend the funeral on Saturday.
Pope Francis left clear instructions that he wanted a smaller ceremony in keeping with his simpler tastes as pontiff. He had arranged for a benefactor to pay for it all.
Unlike the vast majority of his predecessors, he will not be buried in St Peter’s, but in a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in central Rome, beneath a tombstone inscribed only with his name.
Before being moved to St Peter’s, Pope Francis had been lying in an open coffin in the chapel of his home, flanked by Swiss Guards and cardinals in prayer.
His last public appearance was on Easter Sunday, during which he delivered brief remarks to the masses gathered in St Peter’s Square from a wheelchair.
He then greeted worshippers and blessed babies as he was driven in a car through the crowds.
His Papal apartments have been sealed, marking the start of the period known as the Sede Vacante – or empty seat – which continues until a new head of the church is elected.
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