The Vatican kept the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica open all night Wednesday due to higher-than-expected turnout of Catholic faithful determined to bid farewell to the late Pope Francis.
AP reports the latest numbers released by the Vatican said more than 20,000 people had paid their respects to the 88-year-old during the first 8 ½ hours of the public viewing on Wednesday.
St. Peter’s Basilica Opens to the Public to Pay Their Respects to Pope Francishttps://t.co/0YPYTL6Krp
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The basilica closed for just one hour Thursday morning, from 6 a.m. until 7 a.m., the planned opening time.
By late Wednesday, the wait to view the open coffin appeared to be three or four hours and growing, according to the outlet, as thousands waited to view Francis lay in state, perched on a ramp facing mourners, with four Swiss Guards standing at attention.
A person doing crowd management estimated that the wait was closer to five hours. The mourners stretched down the center of Via della Conciliazione, in a lane set aside for Jubilee pilgrims.
The faithful line up at St. Peter’s Basilica to bid farewell to Pope Francis. Before the funeral on 26.04.2025, visitors can see the deceased Pope once again at the open coffin. (Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)
After three days of public viewing, a funeral Mass will be held Saturday in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate the 12-year pontificate of Francis.
The pope will then be buried in a niche within the St. Mary Major Basilica, near his favorite Madonna icon.
Heads of state are expected for Francis’ funeral Saturday, but the three days of public viewing in the basilica are designed to allow ordinary worshippers to grieve their loss from across the 1.4-billion strong Catholic Church.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
