VATICAN CITY: The Vatican said on Thursday that at least 130 foreign delegations, including about "50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs", would attend Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday. "There are currently 130 delegations confirmed for the funeral of Pope Francis," to be held in St Peter's Square, the Vatican said.
Meanwhile, mourners queued on Thursday to catch a last glimpse of Pope Francis's body on the second day of public tributes as Italian authorities stepped up security arrangements ahead of his weekend funeral.
Some 61,000 people had filed past the late Catholic leader's red-lined wooden coffin in the first 26 hours since Francis was laid in state at St Peter's Basilica on Wednesday morning, the Vatican said.
Such was the demand to see him that authorities extended visiting hours on Wednesday from midnight local time until 5:30 am.
After a break of just one and a half hours, the doors opened again, with authorities saying the window might again be extended on Thursday night if necessary.
Italian authorities have begun increasing security for the funeral, even blocking drones.
On Thursday morning, the queue quickly stretched far past the two entry points at St Peter's Square, where spirits were high despite the long wait.
"It's true that it feels oppressive but at the same time you all feel united, everyone happy," Frenchwoman Laure Du Moulin who visited with her family, said. "Everyone seems enthusiastic, fraternal, like a big community."
Friends Florencia Soria and Ana Sofia Alicata, both 26 and -- like Francis -- from Argentina, came prepared for the long wait with coffees and wondered whether the light rain might work in their favour.
"We're here and we hope it will go as well as possible, with people leaving because of the rain," joked Soria, although the sun soon re-emerged.
Francis died on Monday aged 88, after 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.
Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.
His funeral on Saturday is expected to draw huge crowds as well as world leaders including US President Donald Trump.
The ceremony will be held in front of St Peter's Basilica.
Lined in red silk, the pope's wooden coffin has been set before St Peter's altar, with Francis dressed in his papal vestments -- a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes -- with a rosary in his hands.
Each mourner was ushered past the casket within seconds, while authorities on Thursday banned the use of smartphones inside the Basilica.
A day earlier the flow of mourners was slower with many people trying to capture photos or videos.
"It was a brief but intense moment next to his body," Italian Massimo Palo, 63, said after his visit.
"He was a pope amongst his flock, amongst his people, and I hope the next papacies will be a bit like his," he added.
The coffin is due to be sealed on Friday night at 8 pm in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo who is running the Vatican's day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected. - AFP
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