VATICAN CITY (AP) — So many mourners lined up to see Pope Francis lying in state in a simple wooden coffin inside St. Peter’s Basilica that the Vatican kept the doors open all night due to higher-than-expected turnout, closing the basilica for just an hour and a half Thursday morning for cleaning.
The basilica was bathed in a hushed silence as mourners from across the globe made a slow, shuffling procession up the main aisle to pay their last respects to Francis, who died Monday at age 88 after a stroke.
The hours spent on line up the stately via della Conciliazione through St. Peter’s Square and through the Holy Door into the basilica has allowed mourners to find community around the Argentine pontiff’s legacy of inclusion and humble persona.
Emiliano Fernandez, a Catholic from Mexico, was waiting in line around midnight, and after two hours still had not reached the basilica.
“I don’t even care how much time I wait here. It’s just the opportunity to (show) how I admired Francisco in his life,” said Fernandez, whose admiration for the pope grew during his 2016 visit to Mexico.
Robert Healy, a pilgrim from Ireland, flew on the spur of the moment from Dublin just to pay his respects.
“I think it’s just really important to be here, to show our respect to the Holy Father,” he said. “We flew from Dublin last night, we’re staying for one day, home tonight then. We just felt it was really important to be here.”
The last numbers released by the Vatican said more than 61,000 people had paid their respects by 1 p.m. Thursday, more than a day after opening. The basilica closed for just a short time Thursday morning, from about 5:30 a.m. until until 7 a.m., the planned opening time.
Among the first-day mourners was a church group of 14-year-olds from near Milan who arrived for the now-suspended canonization of the first millennial saint, as well as a woman who prayed to the pope for a successful operation and an Italian family who brought their small children to see the pope’s body.
“We came because we didn’t bring them when he was alive, so we thought we would bring them for a final farewell,’’ said Rosa Scorpati, who was exiting the basilica Wednesday with her three children in strollers. “They were good, but I don’t think they really understood because they haven’t yet had to deal with death.”
Like many others, the Scorpati family from Calabria was in Rome on an Easter vacation, only to be met with the news of Francis’ death on Easter Monday.
Out of devotion to the pope and his message of inclusion, the grieving faithful joined the procession of mourners that wended from St. Peter’s Square through the basilica’s Holy Door, with the repentant among them winning an indulgence, a form of atonement granted during the Jubilee Holy Year. From there, the line extended down the basilica’s central aisle to the pope’s simple wooden casket.
After three days of public viewing, a funeral Mass including heads of state will be held Saturday in St. Peter’s Square. The pope will then be buried in a niche within the St. Mary Major Basilica, near his favorite Madonna icon.
Security
Italian authorities have tightened security around the Vatican, adding drones to foot and horse patrols to their controls along the Tiber River and Via della Conciliazione, which leads to St. Peter’s Square, to secure the area for mourners and foreign delegation expected for the funeral.
The Vatican said 130 delegations are confirmed, including 50 heads of state and 10 reigning sovereigns. Among those confirming their attendance are U.S. President Donald Trump with the First Lady Melania Trump, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The prefect of Rome, Lamberto Giannini, told a news conference on Thursday that “I believe that the ‘security machine’ is ready,” but will remain flexible and ”ready to reshape and above all transmit a sense of serenity.”
