Crowds file into the Vatican on day before Pope's funeral

Tens of thousands of mourners filed into St Peter’s Basilica yesterday to pay their respects to Pope Francis ahead of his funeral, which will take place today.

- JOSHUA MCELWEE GIULIA SEGRETI

Long queues snaked around St Peter’s Square and the surrounding roads before the crowds were funnelled through the heart of the basilica in a single column leading to the central altar, where Francis’s open-topped coffin was displayed on a dais.

The basilica was open for most of Thursday evening into yesterday morning, shutting its doors for only three hours overnight. The body of the 88-year-old Pope, who died on Monday in his rooms at the Vatican’s Santa Marta guesthouse after suffering a stroke, was brought to St Peter’s in a solemn procession on Wednesday. Since then, about 150,000 people from all over the world have bid farewell to the pontiff, the Vatican said.

“It’s a very strong feeling [to be here],” said Patricio Castriota, a visitor who, like the Pope, is from Argentina. “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. He cleaned up [a lot] of the bad – maybe not all of it, but he tried.”