The Vatican kept the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica open all night Wednesday due to higher-than-expected turnout of Catholic faithful determined to bid farewell to the late Pope Francis.
AP reports the latest numbers released by the Vatican said more than 20,000 people had paid their respects to the 88-year-old during the first 8 ½ hours of the public viewing on Wednesday.
The basilica closed for just one hour Thursday morning, from 6 a.m. until 7 a.m., the planned opening time.
By late Wednesday, the wait to view the open coffin appeared to be three or four hours and growing, according to the outlet, as thousands waited to view Francis lay in state, perched on a ramp facing mourners, with four Swiss Guards standing at attention.
A person doing crowd management estimated that the wait was closer to five hours. The mourners stretched down the center of Via della Conciliazione, in a lane set aside for Jubilee pilgrims.
After three days of public viewing, a funeral Mass will be held Saturday in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate the 12-year pontificate of Francis.
The faithful line up at St. Peter’s Basilica to bid farewell to Pope Francis. Before the funeral on 26.04.2025, visitors can see the deceased Pope once again at the open coffin. (Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)
A minute’s silence will be held across Italy as the service begins at 10 a.m. with tens of thousands of members of the public expected to attend.
They will provide a backdrop for a selection of world leaders, dignitaries and heads of state expected to be personally on hand including U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, UPI reports.
The pope will then be buried in a niche within the St. Mary Major Basilica, near his favorite Madonna icon.
The current three days of public viewing in the basilica are designed to allow ordinary worshippers to grieve their loss from across the 1.4-billion strong Catholic Church.
The Associated Press and UPI contributed to this story
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: [email protected]
Read the full article here