VATICAN CITY: Thousands of people poured into St Peter's Basilica on Wednesday to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, who is lying in state for three days ahead of his funeral on Saturday. Crowds stretched down the main boulevard leading through Rome into the Vatican under an unusually warm spring sun, pressing forward slowly as people took their turn to see the late pontiff, laid out in an open coffin.
The body of the 88-year-old pope was brought to St Peter's in a solemn procession earlier on Wednesday. Red-hatted cardinals, bishops, candle-carrying friars and helmeted Swiss Guards walked slowly into the vast, sunlit square in front of the basilica as a choir chanted psalms and prayers in Latin while a bell gently tolled. As the coffin crossed St Peter's Square, a crowd of several thousand broke into repeated applause — a traditional Italian sign of respect at such events. — Reuters
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