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Thousands of mourners pay respects to Pope Francis as he lies in state at St Peter’s Basilica
Pope Francis’s coffin has arrived at St Peter’s Basilica, where it will lie in state for public viewings for the next three days.
Thousands queued into the evening on Wednesday to pay their respects ahead of Saturday’s funeral mass.
World leaders, cardinals and crowds of pilgrims are expected to flock to the Vatican for Pope Francis’ funeral, which will be held at 10am on Saturday in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced.
The Prince of Wales will join the likes of US president Donald Trump, Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky to pay their respects to the pontiff, who died aged 88 on Monday.
He is said to have shown the first signs of sudden illness two hours before passing, according to the Vatican news outlet, which reported he made a gesture of farewell with his hand to his nurse before falling into a coma.
His death came after he was hospitalised with double pneumonia for several weeks in February, before he returned to the Vatican in mid-March to recover.
The body of Pope Francis is placed into St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
The body of Pope Francis is carried through St Peter’s Square to St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Pilgrims walk to St Peter’s Square at the Vatican (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar24 April 2025 03:57
Pope Francis chose St Mary Major as his resting place, about 4 km from the Vatican.
It marks a break from tradition as most popes were buried in Vatican grounds – the last pope not to be was in 1903.
The basilica was important to the Pope because it was his favourite place to pray. He prayed there before and after every international trip.
“I’ve always had a great devotion to St Mary Major, even before I became pope,” he wrote in his 2024 book El Sucesor.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar24 April 2025 03:54
