Thousands more pay respects after St Peter's remains open all night

Thousands of mourners lined up for hours on a second day to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis's body, after St Peter's Basilica stayed open all night to cope with the huge crowds who had come to pay their respects.

- Angela Giuffrida Vatican City Oliver Holmes

The 16th-century basilica, where Francis's simple wooden coffin is placed on the main altar, had been scheduled to close at midnight on Wednesday but remained open until 5.30am to let in those who still wished to enter. After 90 minutes of cleaning, it was reopened at 7am.

The Vatican said more than 90,000 people had viewed the late pontiff's body since the basilica opened to the faithful for a three-day period that ends today. The pope, the head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, died at his home in Casa Santa Marta on Monday, aged 88, after a stroke and subsequent heart failure.

In interviews with Italian media, the head of the pontiff's medical team said Francis had died quickly without suffering, and there was nothing doctors could have done to save his life.