More than 100,000 pay respects to Pope Francis in final hours of lying in state

VATICAN CITY – More than 100,000 mourners filed into St Peter’s Basilica on April 25 to pay their respects to Pope Francis, viewing his open coffin in the final visiting hours ahead of his funeral on April 26.

Soon after 7pm (1am on April 26, Singapore time) the Vatican ended a TV broadcast of the visits that had been running nearly continuously, ahead of a private ceremony to seal his casket.

As Italian and Vatican police prepared to close the long queue through the central nave of the church, the last visitors shuffled in.

The 88-year-old Pope, who had led the Church since 2013, died on April 21 in his rooms at the Vatican’s Santa Marta guesthouse after suffering a stroke as he was recuperating from weeks of pneumonia.

About 250,000 people from all over the world have lined up to say farewell since his body was taken to St Peter’s Basilica on April 23 to lie in state, the Vatican said.

Among the last visitors were French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, who stood together at the side of the casket for a few moments. He bowed his head; she made the sign of the cross.

Long queues snaked around St Peter’s Square and the surrounding roads all day on April 25. Some waited hours for the chance to spend a few minutes inside the basilica and pay their respects.

“It’s a very strong feeling (to be here),” said Mr Patricio Castriota, a visitor from Argentina, the Pope’s homeland. “This farewell was very sad, but I thank God that I was able to see him”.

“He’s the only pope we’ve had who came from South America, a pope who had many good intentions for the Catholic Church,” said Mr Castriota. “He cleaned up (a lot) of the bad, maybe not all of it, but he tried.”

Pope Francis was the first pontiff from the Americas and was known for an unusually charming, and even humorous, demeanour.

But his 12-year papacy was sometimes turbulent, with Pope Francis seeking to overhaul a divided institution but battling with traditionalists who opposed his many changes.

“He humanised the church, without desacralising it,” said Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, who leads the Church on the French island of Corsica.

A formal summary of Pope Francis’ papacy, written in Latin, was to be placed into his casket as it was sealed on the evening of April 25. It described him as a “beloved and simple pastor” who left “a marvellous testimony of humanity, of a holy life and of universal fatherhood”.

Rome prepares for funeral

A Conclave to choose a new pontiff is unlikely to start before May 6. In the meantime, the world’s Catholic cardinals have assumed temporary control of the 1.4 billion-member Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinals present in Rome are convening almost daily, primarily to discuss logistical matters, in what is called a “general congregation”.

149 of the world’s 252 cardinals were present for the meeting on the morning of April 25, the Vatican said, with dozens more expected to arrive through the rest of the day.

The private ceremony to seal Pope Francis’ coffin will be led by eight Catholic cardinals, including a US prelate who has faced criticism over his handling of sexual abuse cases. Among those also present will be the Pope’s secretaries.

The Vatican said on April 25 it is expecting 160 foreign delegations to attend the April 26 funeral, among them dozens of world leaders including US President Donald Trump and 10 reigning monarchs.

There had been speculation that foreign leaders might have diplomatic meetings on the sidelines of the funeral to discuss the war in Ukraine, but the Elysee Palace said on April 25 that Mr Macron would not host any such meetings.

Mr Trump was due to spend only about 15 hours in Rome, arriving late on April 25 and leaving directly after the funeral.

The authorities began ramping up security ahead of the ceremony, with snipers on rooftops, drones watching from the sky and an army device readied to neutralise hostile flying objects.

The heart of Rome is expected to be closed to traffic on April 26 to allow a funeral motorcade carrying the pope’s remains to make its way slowly to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), where Pope Francis, in a break from tradition, asked to be buried instead of St Peter’s Basilica.

Crowds are expected along the route, which will pass by many of Rome’s famed monuments, including the Colosseum.

The Pope’s tomb will be in a niche in a side aisle of the basilica, with just the word “Franciscus”, his name in Latin, engraved on the marble. REUTERS