Thousands of faithful queued in Vatican City to pay their respects to Pope Francis on Friday, days after the pontiff passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88.
It is the last day for the public to see the pope’s coffin ahead of his funeral the day after. Until 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) mourners can bid farewell to the late pontiff before his coffin is sealed.
What do we know about the crowds on Friday?
As such large numbers of pilgrims and other faithful came to bid the pope farewell, the Basilica extended its opening hours two times in a row, only closing between 2:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) and 5:40 a.m. on Friday.
Italian and Vatican authorities have taken tight security measures with drones blocked, snipers on roofs and fighter jets on standby, also to prepare for the funeral on Saturday. Further checkpoints will be activated on Friday night, police said.
Chaotic scenes unfolded as faithful waited outside the Vatican on Friday, Germany’s DPA news agency reported.
Visitors queueing on an access street to the plaza pushed aside security barriers, with some making their way towards the St. Peter’s Basilica where the pope lies in state. Many security forces tried to stop them.
Rome expects 200,000 to attend pope funeral
The funeral is to take place at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Saturday in St. Peter’s Square, open for the public. Rome expects around 200,000 people to gather for the mass, including 50 international leaders and 10 monarchs who confirmed to come.
Among them are the president of the pope’s home country Argentina, Javier Milei, as well as US President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Francis was a was praised by some who considered he advocated for migrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and the poor, shunning pomp and privilege.
Emanuela Bisco, who took a day off work to visit pay her respects, told the AP news agency she considered Francis “the pope of the forgotten, who was close to the simplest people, the homeless who were not pushed away.”
“I hope that the next pope will be at his level, and continue his struggles, his openness, everything that he did,” she said..
Who will follow the pope’s legacy is to be decided in the conclave, following nine days of mourning. As the first day of official morning is the day of the funeral, the world’s cardinals could meet on May 5 to start the decision process.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
