So many mourners lined up to see Pope Francis lying in state in a simple wooden coffin inside St. Peter라이브 바카라 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 Vatican said more than 90,000 people had paid their respects by Thursday evening, a day and a half after opening. The basilica closed for just a short time Thursday morning, and will stay open Thursday night as long as there are mourners, the Vatican said.
The hours spent on line up the stately via della Conciliazione through St. Peter라이브 바카라 Square and through the Holy Door into the basilica has allowed mourners to find community around the Argentine pontiff라이브 바카라 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. It라이브 바카라 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 it라이브 바카라 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.”
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 pope라이브 바카라 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. Peter라이브 바카라 Square through the basilica라이브 바카라 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 basilica라이브 바카라 central aisle to the pope라이브 바카라 simple wooden casket.
After three days of public viewing, a funeral Mass including heads of state will be held Saturday in St. Peter라이브 바카라 Square. The pope will then be buried in a niche within the St. Mary Major Basilica, near his favorite Madonna icon.
