Toil and tears as the faithful gather

THE eyes of the world have turned towards this famous square in Rome, to St Peter's Basilica where the Holy Father will lie in state, and to the conclave of men who will decide the future of the Church.

- BY MATTHEW YOUNG

But it is the women who seemed yesterday to embody the spirit and the emotion felt by millions of Catholics around the world at the death of the Pope.

The nuns who walk the famous cobbles, clutching rosary beads, their varied habits signifying the humility, purity, poverty or devotion most cherished by their order.

And then in contrast there is the bustle, the noise and the chaos of thousands of tourists, worshippers, locals and the international media swarming into the Vatican.

But even amid the sadness at a revered figure's passing, practical decisions have to be made.

With Catholics from all over the world expected to queue for access to St Peter's Basilica to see the Pope lying in state, cardinals yesterday morning filed into the Vatican for their first meeting since the Pope's death a little more than 24 hours earlier.