Tens of thousands of people attended the Basilica of San Pedro on Friday, on the last day to pay tribute to Pope Francis before his funeral on Saturday.
Long queues serpent around the Plaza de San Pedro and the surrounding streets, Before channeling through the heart of the Basilica in a single column that led to the central altar, where Francisco’s open coffin is placed on a stretch.
The body of the 88 -year -old Pope, who died Monday in his rooms of the Santa Marta del Vatican hostel after suffering a stroke, He was taken to San Pedro in a solemn procession on Wednesday.
Since then, almost 130,000 people from all over the world have said goodbye to the Pontiff, according to the Vatican.
“It’s a very strong feeling (being here),” said Patricio Castriota, a visitor who, like the Pope, is from Argentina . “This farewell was very sad, but I thank God to have been able to see him.”
“He is the only Pope that we had to come from South America, a Pope with many good intentions for the Catholic Church,” Castriot said. “He corrected a lot about the bad, maybe not everything, but he tried.”
Francisco, who was Pope since 2013, was the first pontiff of the Western hemisphere and was known for his unusually charming, and even humorous behavior.
His 12 -year -old papacy was sometimes turbulent: Francisco tried to reform a divided institution but had to fight the traditionalists who opposed their numerous changes.
“Humanized the Church, without deacralizing it,” said Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo, who guides the Church on the French island of Corsica. On Friday morning, the tails extended to the middle of the main boulevard that Roma crosses towards the Vatican.
People advanced slowly, some waiting for hours, to have a few minutes inside to present their respects to Francisco.
The Vatican authorities plan to finish the wakes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, before the formal rite to seal the coffin of the deceased potato. The Vatican announced that it would close the line to enter the basilica around 6:00 p.m.
“What surprised me was his determination to serve the Church and love his people with all his energies, until the end,” The Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, ceremonial leader of the Cardinal College and retired official of the Vatican, to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in an interview published on Friday.
Rome prepares for funeral
It is unlikely that the conclave to choose a new pontiff begins before May 6. Meanwhile, Catholic cardinals in the world have assumed the temporal control of the Roman Catholic Church, of 1.4 billion members.
The cardinals present in Rome meet almost daily, mainly to address logistics issues, in what is called a “general congregation.”
About 113 of the 252 cardinals in the world were present at Thursday’s meeting, said the Vatican, and dozens are expected to have arrived in Rome for Friday’s meeting.
Francisco’s coffin will be sealed in a private ceremony on Friday night headed by eight Catholic cardinals, Including an American prelate that has faced criticism for its management of sexual abuse cases.
Among those present are also the secretaries of the late Pope. Rome prepares for the arrival of hundreds of high profile delegations that will attend the funeral on Saturday, Including US President Donald Trump, who will fly to the Italian capital late Friday.
The authorities have begun to strengthen security before the ceremony, with snipers on the roofs, drones observing from the sky and an army device prepared to neutralize hostile flying objects.
It is expected that the heart of Rome will be closed to traffic on Saturday to allow the funeral delegation that transports the remains of the Pope slowly advance towards the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor, where Francisco, breaking with tradition, He asked to be buried instead of the Basilica of San Pedro.
Crowds are expected to meet along the route, which will pass through many of the famous monuments of Rome, including the coliseum.
The Pope’s tomb will be in a niche in a side nave of the basilica, with only the word “Franciscus”, its Latin name, recorded in the marble.
