A solemn ritual as faithful pay tribute to Pope

STANDING yards from the Pope's body, it is easy to lose yourself, to forget hundreds of others are around you and this is a moment in history.

- BY MATTHEW YOUNG in The Vatican

Inside St Peter's Basilica, where Pope Francis is now lying in state, spiralling queues from outside culminate here for a moment that should be spiritual, or at the very least respectful.

But many were accused of being distasteful for filming Francis in his open coffin on their phones.

Instead of bowed heads and prayers, the enduring image from yesterday was of smartphones, held aloft as if in a concert, by those near the front of the queue.

For many there was no silent reflection in the brief moments in front of the coffin, a ritual steeped in hundreds of years of history.

When crowds arrived, they were asked to put selfie sticks away, but the phones remained.

It made it difficult for those who kept their phones in pockets and chose moments of respect rather than souvenir pictures.

Martin Gilsenan and his wife Catherine, both 59, and from Wimbledon, South West London, are on holiday in Italy.

They are staying 100 miles from Rome and arrived yesterday morning to pay their respects.