The Vatican was making final preparations Friday, April 25, for Pope Francis's funeral as the last of the huge crowds of mourners filed through St. Peter's Basilica to view his open coffin. Over 128,000 people have already paid their last respects to Francis, whose coffin will be closed at 8 pm local time in a ceremony attended by senior cardinals.
Many of the 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs attending Saturday's ceremony in St. Peter's Square, including US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, are expected to arrive later Friday in Rome. Italian and Vatican authorities have placed the area around St. Peter's under tight security with drones blocked, snipers on roofs and fighter jets on standby. Further checkpoints will be activated on Friday night, police said.
Vast crowds of people on Friday morning packed Via della Conciliazione, the wide avenue leading to the Vatican, for the third and final day of the pope's lying-in-state. For a second night in a row, the Vatican kept St. Peter's open past the scheduled hours to accommodate the queues, only closing the doors between 2:30 am and 5:40 am on Friday.
The Catholic Church's first Latin American pope died on Monday aged 88, less than a month after spending weeks in hospital with severe pneumonia. The Argentine pontiff, who had long suffered failing health, defied doctors' orders by appearing at Easter, the most important moment in the Catholic calendar. It was his last public appearance.
Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed those on the fringes of society in his 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. At least 130 foreign delegations are expected at his funeral, including Argentina's President Javier Milei and Britain's Prince William. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his condolences late Thursday, after a notable delay that some attributed to strained ties with the Vatican. Francis had repeatedly criticized Israel's conduct in Gaza.
The pope's body was dressed in his papal vestments – a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes – and laid inside a simple wooden coffin. On Thursday, the Vatican banned people from taking photos inside the basilica, a move that eased the queue. It came after some mourners took selfies – deemed by many disrespectful – with the coffin.
Italy's civil protection agency estimates that "several hundred thousand" people will descend on Rome on what was already set to be a busy weekend due to a public holiday on Friday. After the funeral, Francis's coffin will be driven at a walking pace to be buried at his favourite church, Rome's papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
The hearse will pass down Rome's Fori Imperiali – where the city's ancient temples lie – and past the Colosseum, according to officials. Big screens will be set up along the route on which to watch the ceremony, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said.
Francis was a champion of underdogs, and a group of "poor and needy" will be at Santa Maria Maggiore to welcome the coffin, the Vatican said. Francis will be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus. People will be able to visit the tomb from Sunday morning.