The row formed by thousands of people who come to the Basilica of San Pedro to give the last goodbye to Pope Francis exceeded midnight and lengthened until 5:30 in the morning of this Thursday (24.04.2025) in Rome, in the first of three days of coffin of the coffin before Saturday’s funeral in the Vatican.
The Basilica of San Pedro remained open until 5.30 am (CET), closed only to allow reorganization and cleaning tasks, and reopened at 7.00 at the large number of faithful who came to give the last goodbye to Pope Francis.
Although the scheduled time of closing was midnight, it was decided to leave the Vatican Basilica open to allow the faithful who had made up to 3 hours of line could enter to honor the Argentine pontiff, who died Monday at age 88.
Since the burning chapel was opened at 11:00 local hours (9:00 GMT) until 7:30 p.m. local (17:30 GMT) the Vatican had counted 19,430 people.
Francisco, who died on Monday with 88 years because of a stroke and after more than two months with serious respiratory problems, lies inside a wooden coffin at the foot of Bernini’s bucket.
Vatican prepared to leave open basilica
The Vatican has organized three days to allow the faithful to give him the last goodbye in the temple: Wednesday and Thursday until midnight but the spokesman of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, said they are “prepared” to leave the basilica open beyond that time.
The burning chapel will end predictably at 7:00 p.m. local (5:00 p.m. GMT) and then proceed to the coffin.
-On Saturday, after the funeral, his body will be taken to the Roman Basilica of Santa María la Mayor to be buried in a chapel, as the Argentine pontiff ordered in life for being very devout of the Virgin that Custodio, the ‘Salus Populi Romani’.
The first Latin American pontiff lies in a simple open coffin, before the imposing Baroque bucket of the world’s largest church.
He carried his inseparable Rosario in his hands and red chance. His body did not deposit in a catafalco, unlike his predecessors: express request from the Argentine austere -style Jesuit.
The “most humble of the potatoes”
“The great silence approached him,” Sor Caterina told AFP, after seeing him. “I had that emotion of feeling that we have the Pope in heaven praying for us,” added this nun residence in Switzerland.
“We wanted to say thanks to the humblest of the potatoes,” said Francisca Antunes, a 21 -year -old Portuguese medicine student after leaving the basilica with a friend. “He felt very good to be there.”
The traditional nine days of mourning in the Vatican after the death of a pontiff – the novelty – will begin on Saturday, the Holy See reported after a new meeting of Cardinals, which still did not announce the date of the next conclave.
JC (EFE, AFP)
