More than 20,000 mourners have formed eight-hour queues at the Vatican as they wait to pay their respects to the late Pope Francis today.
St. Peter’s Basilica was opened to the public this morning so the faithful can say their final goodbyes to Francis as he lies in state for the next three days.
Thousands of people have already flooded the central aisle of the basilica, some crying and others taking a moment for prayer as they pass the pontiff’s open coffin.
Worshippers recalled waiting five hours just to enter St. Peter’s and said they then had to queue for another hour once inside the basilica, NBC News reports.
Tens-of-thousands of people are currently queuing in three lines, but mourners say the queues are moving ‘fairly quickly’ as people usher out after paying their respects.
One woman told the news outlet that her final goodbye was brief, sharing how she just simply blew a kiss towards the pontiff’s open casket.
But Vatican sources told Sky News that the queue is currently taking eight hours to get through, meaning St. Peter’s could close at midnight before mourners in the back may get a chance to pay their respects.
The timeframe for pilgrims to visit the pope’s body may be extended until beyond midnight today due to the large number of visitors, the Vatican said in a statement.
The basilica will reopen at 7am tomorrow and remain open until at least midnight to allow as many people as possible to file past. The final day of lying in state will end at 7pm so that St. Peter’s can be prepared for Francis’ funeral mass on Saturday.
Over the coming days, tens of thousands of people are expected to pass through the basilica to see Francis lie in state and at least 200,000 people are expected to attend the outdoor funeral service on Saturday.
More than 20,000 mourners have formed eight-hour queues at the Vatican as they wait to pay their respects to the late Pope Francis today
The body of Pope Francis was moved Wednesday morning to St. Peter’s Basilica for three days of public mourning for an Argentine pontiff remembered for his humble style, concern for the poor and insistent prayers for peace
Pope Francis’ body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter’s Basilica, on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025
The body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three days
Pilgrims and visitors queue at St Peter’s Square to enter the St Peter’s Basilica and pay respects to the late Pope in the Vatican on April 23, 2025
A woman with a child queues to enter St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican to pay respects to the late Pope Francis after the translation of his body and its transfer to the basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025
People queue to pay their respect to the late Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica for three days, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
The pope’s body was moved this morning to St. Peter’s Basilica for three days of public mourning for an Argentine pontiff remembered for his humble style, concern for the poor and insistent prayers for peace.
Crowds of the ordinary faithful made their way slowly to the 16th-century basilica’s main altar today, where Francis’ simple open wooden casket was perched on a slight ramp, as four Swiss Guards stood at attention.
Many people paying their respects had come to Rome to celebrate Easter, on a spring vacation or other personal business, only to be met with the news of Francis’ death on Easter Monday.
Out of devotion to the Argentine pope and his message of inclusion, they joined the procession of mourners that wended through the Holy Door and down the central aisle of the basilica.
Francis was laid out in red robes, clasping a rosary and wearing a bishop’s mitre, the traditional pointed headdress.
Mourners waited hours to reach the casket – which sat behind a cordon – some holding their cell phones aloft as they neared him to snap photos in what has become a modern ritual.
‘It gave me chills,’ said Ivenes Bianco, as she left the basilica. She was in Rome from the southern city of Brindisi for medical care, and had come to pay her respects.
‘He was important to me because he encouraged co-existence. He brought many people together,’ she added.
Cardinals, meanwhile, met in private to finalise preparations for Saturday’s funeral and plan the conclave to elect Francis’ successor.
Francis died on Monday at age 88, capping a 12-year pontificate characterised by his concern for the poor and message of inclusion, but also some criticism from conservatives who sometimes felt alienated by his progressive bent.
The Vatican has opened St. Peter’s Basilica to the public so thousands of Catholic faithful can pay their final respects to Pope Francis over the next three days. Francis is pictured lying in state on Wednesday following the procession of his coffin from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican
The body of Pope Francis is placed into St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, where he will lie in state for three days
The body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican this morning
Pilgrims and visitors queue at St Peter’s Square to enter the St Peter’s Basilica and pay respects to the late Pope in the Vatican on April 23, 2025
Nuns queue at St Peter’s Square to enter the St Peter’s Basilica and pay respects to the late Pope in the Vatican today
A nun holds information on the passing of Pope Francis, as she queues to enter St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican to pay respects to the late Pope Francis, in Rome, Italy, April 23, 2025
Tens-of-thousands of people are currently queuing in three lines, but mourners say the queues are moving ‘fairly quickly’ with people ushering out after paying their respects
People queue to pay their respects to late Pope Francis as his body lies in state inside St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican, on April 23, 2025
Youngsters queue to enter St. Peter’s Basilica to pay respects as Pope Francis lies in state
Children rest on the ground today as the faithful queue to enter St. Peter’s Basilica to pay respects while Pope Francis lies in state
Faithful queue to enter St. Peter’s Basilica to pay respects as Pope Francis lies in state
Faithful queue to pay their respects to the body of Pope Francis lying in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica, on April 23, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican
Faithful queue to enter St. Peter’s Basilica to pay respects as Pope Francis lies in state
People queue to pay their respect to the late Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica for three days, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Faithful queue to enter St. Peter’s Basilica to pay respects as Pope Francis lies in state
People queue to pay respects as the body of Pope Francis lies in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican, on April 23, 2025. The Pope died of a stroke on Easter Monday
A man carries a dog as faithful queue to enter St. Peter’s Basilica to pay respects as Pope Francis lies in state
Faithful queue to pay their respects to the body of Pope Francis lying in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica, on April 23, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican
The public mourning period began at 11am (10am BST) today after the pontiff’s casket was transported from his residence at Casa Santa Marta to the basilica this morning.
Mourners, including nuns and the ordinary faithful, wept as the coffin of the late pontiff was moved through the huge crowd in a solemn processional.
As the coffin crossed St. Peter’s Square, the crowd broke into repeated applause – a traditional Italian sign of respect at such events.
Red-hatted cardinals, priests, candle-carrying friars and helmeted Swiss Guards walked slowly into the vast, sunlit esplanade as a male choir chanted psalms and prayers in Latin while the great bells of the basilica tolled.
The body of the 88-year-old pope, who died in his rooms at the Santa Marta guesthouse after suffering a stroke on Easter Monday, was held aloft on a wooden platform by 14 white-gloved, black-suited pallbearers.
Francis, who spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year being treated for double pneumonia, last appeared in public on Easter Sunday, when he surprised pilgrims by being driven around the packed square in his white, open-topped popemobile.
The procession of cardinals and bishops today brought Francis through the same piazza where he gave what became his final salute on Easter Sunday.
His funeral on Saturday will be attended by several high profile VIPs including Prince William, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A huge crowd of mourners watch as the body of Pope Francis is transferred to the Basilica at St. Peter’s Square today
The body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican this morning
A nun cries as the body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican this morning
Cardinals pay their respects to Pope Francis inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, where his body will lie in state for three days, on April 23, 2025
A woman is seen wiping her tears as the body of Pope Francis is processed through St. Peter’s Square this morning
A nun displays the makes of the cross and a tearful woman places her hand over her heart as Pope Francis’ coffin is processed past them in St. Peter’s Square this morning
The body of Pope Francis has been transfer inside St. Peter’s Basilica, where he will lie in state for three days
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and other Cardinals are pictured in the Basilica during the ceremony
Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell blesses the body of Pope Francis inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican
The body of Pope Francis lies in state at the Basilica of St. Peter on April 23, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican
People gather in St. Peter’s Square as they await the arrival of the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica for three days, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
People line up to see the body of Pope Francis is in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three days
Catholic cardinals this morning performed the ritual ceremony to transfer Francis’ body from his home in the Vatican hotel to St. Peter’s.
Vatican Camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is running the Vatican administration until a new pope is elected, presided over the solemn ceremony in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where Francis lived.
Francis’ casket was flanked by four Swiss Guards standing at attention. Outside, priests carrying long candles waited to lead the procession – with Swiss Guards at their sides – into the basilica.
Pallbearers carried the simple wooden coffin on their shoulders through the Vatican’s archway gates, leading out into St. Peter’s Square, and passed the huge crowds of mourners.
The late pope’s open wooden coffin was carried by pallbearers the 500 metres from the Casa Santa Marta, where he lived and died, behind a procession of red-robed cardinals. Swiss Guards were at their sides in their golden and blue uniforms.
Mourners in the piazza watched as Francis’ casket passed by along the same path the pope had travelled just days before on Easter Sunday, in what became his final popemobile tour through the faithful.
It was a surprise salute, which Francis decided at the last minute after being assured by his nurse he could do it despite his continued frail health from pneumonia.
Catholic cardinals this morning performed the ritual ceremony to transfer Francis’ body from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel, where Francis lived, to St. Peter’s Basilica
Emotional mourners weep as Pope Francis’ coffin is processed through the huge crowd in St. Peter’s Square this morning
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Pope Francis past faithful to Saint Peter’s Basilica, in Vatican City this morning
A nun reacts at St. Peter’s Square, on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ body and its transfer to Saint Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025
The Catholic faithful watch as Cardinals, accompanied by Swiss Guards, transport Pope Francis’ coffin into Saint Peter’s Basilica this morning
The bells of St. Peter’s Basilica tolled this morning as Pope Francis’ body was transferred from the Vatican hotel where he lived to the basilica, escorted by a procession of solemn cardinals and Swiss Guards
A woman reacts as the ceremony with the Pope Francis’ body, who will lie in state for three days, arrives at St. Peter’s Basilica
A woman places her hand over her heart as the body of Pope Francis is carried through a huge crowd of Catholic faithful today
Twelve pall bearers, all dressed in pale blue suits, carried the open coffin at shoulder height through the square behind the Vatican and into St. Peter’s Basilica
Thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square this morning to watch the ritual ceremony. Crowds began gathering in the square just before 7am so they could be among the first to enter the basilica when the official lying in state begins at 11am
Pope Francis’ body passed through the crowd at the Vatican during a ceremony transporting it to St. Peter’s Basilica, where the late pontiff will lie in state for three days
Cardinals pray and mourn Pope Francis as his body is transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica from the Chapel of Santa Marta
Pallbearers, next to Swiss Guards, carry the coffin of the late Pope Francis (centre) at St. Peter’s Square, entering St. Peter’s Basilica, during the procession from the chapel of Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica today
Pope Francis’ body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter’s Basilica, where he will lie in state for three days, this morning
The body of Pope Francis passes through the crowd at the Vatican this morning during the processional
The body of Pope Francis is placed at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three days
The coffin containing the body of the late Pope Francis is carried to St. Peter’s Basilica during a procession this morning
The faithful gather during a procession on the day of the transfer of Pope Francis’ body to St. Peter’s Basilica
Nuns arriving from Spain, some from South America, chat with a policeman while waiting in line to see the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state for three days, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
The procession with the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state for three days, enters St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican
Cardinals pay their respects as the body of Pope Francis lies in state at the Basilica of St. Peter today in Vatican City
A person prays at St. Peter’s Square, on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ body and its transfer to Saint Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025
An honour guard of 18 Swiss Guards, dressed in their colourful red, blue and yellow uniforms and carrying ceremonial lances, lined up in front of St. Peter’s Basilica just before 9am (8am BST) today.
The crowds gathered in front of St. Peter’s hushed as Cardinal Farrell read a prayer in Latin from Santa Marta chapel, where the Pope’s coffin had been since Monday. A choir sang as cardinals in their red cassocks and capes stood in prayer.
The ceremony from inside the Santa Marta chapel was relayed on giant screens that had been erected overnight.
Four ushers then wheeled the coffin from the chapel and the bell on the left-hand side of St. Peter’s began it’s solemn tolling at 9.10am to mark the start of the procession.
The procession was led by Cardinals, who in a few weeks will be tasked with electing a new pope when they meet for their Conclave. It passed through the Piazza Santa Marta and the Piazza dei Protomartiri before entering St. Peter’s Square through the Arch of Bells.
Twelve pall bearers, all dressed in pale blue suits, carried the open coffin at shoulder height through the square behind the Vatican and into the basilica. As they walked, the tolling belling and Latin chanting of prayers, added to the solemn atmosphere of the proceedings.
Priests carrying candles also flanked the coffin and there was a further outer cohort of Swiss Guards on either side of the casket. By the time the coffin came into view, around 20,000 people had gathered in St. Peter’s square, under a fierce sun with temperature already 20C.
Vatican Camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the man temporarily in charge of the Roman Catholic Church until the next Pope is elected, marked the start of the procession with prayer
Catholic nuns walk in Rome near the Vatican, following the Pope’s death, on April 23, 2025
A cardinal makes the sign of the cross as he walks past the coffin of Pope Francis on the day of the translation of his body, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, April 23, 2025
Pope Francis’ body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican today
Swiss guards march in front of the entrance of St Peter’s basilica following the procession of the late Pope’s coffin from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican on April 23, 2025
A Swiss Guard stands as people gather in St. Peter’s Square on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ body from his home in the Vatican hotel to St. Peter’s Basilica this morning
Pallbearers, next to Swiss Guards, carry the coffin of the late Pope Francis as it is transported from the chapel of Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica today
Pope Francis, whose open casket is pictured today during a processional to St. Peter’s Basilica, died of a stroke on April 21, 2025. The 88-year-old reformer inspired devotion but riled traditionalists during 12 years leading the Catholic Church
Faithful sit outside the Basilica at St. Peter’s Square before the body of Pope Francis is transferred
Nuns wait on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ coffin at the Vatican, April 23, 2025
Pallbearers, next to Swiss Guards, carry the coffin of the late Pope Francis through the crowd in St. Peter’s Square today
The coffin entered the basilica though the central doors and was placed by the Altar of the Confession, where Cardinal Farrell blessed it with holy water and incense.
He then read from the Gospel of St John: ‘At that time Jesus lifted up his eyes to Heaven, and praying said: ‘Father I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
‘O Righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
‘I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’ (John 17 21-24)
As requested by Francis in his will, there was no elaborate raised catafalque for his coffin, just a simple wooden board for it to be carried on.
Pilgrims in the crowd were able to follow the service via 58 page booklet posted online by the Vatican.
Cardinal Farrell said: ‘Brothers and sisters, let us pray to God our Father, that he may welcome our departed Shepherd, to his eternal home, and increase our faith in the resurrection of the dead.’
At this another ripple of applause broke out among the faithful before the service concluded with the Our Father prayer and Marian Antiphon 75 minutes after it had started.
Attendees sit at St. Peter’s Square during the ceremony following the procession of the coffin of the late Pope, transported from the chapel of Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican on April 23, 2025
The faithful watch as Pope Francis’ open coffin is carried through St. Peter’s Square this morning
Two nuns are seen offering each other support at St. Peter’s Square today during the ceremony following the procession of the coffin of the late pope
Members of the clergy arrive at St. Peter’s Square, on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ body and its transfer to Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, April 23, 2025
Cardinals arrive during the transfer of Pope Francis’s coffin to Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City today
People watch as the coffin with the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica for three days, is carried in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Pope Francis to Saint Peter’s Basilica, in Vatican City, 23 April 2025
Cardinals enter Saint Peter’s Basilica, on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ body, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025
Pope Francis’s body rests inside his coffin, on the day of the translation of his body, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican
Nuns pray in front of the body of Pope Francis inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three days
People line up in St. Peter’s Square to enter St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis, where he will lie in state for three days, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
The late pope’s doctor has spoken for the first time today, insisting that Francis ‘did not suffer’ as he took his dying breath.
Speaking to Italian TV, Dr Sergio Alfieri, who treated the pope during his five week stay at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, was among the first to arrive at the Vatican on Monday morning after being alerted by staff that Francis had woken up and complained of feeling unwell.
Dr Alfieri, who is the lead coordinator of Francis’ medical team, said: ‘When I got to Santa Marta, he was on oxygen and had a drip, but he wasn’t alert.
‘It wasn’t a respiratory problem; he was in a coma, and he didn’t know it. He didn’t realise it, but he had a blood clot, most likely from a stroke.
‘Then I listened to both lungs, and it wasn’t a breathing problem, I can say that it wasn’t a breathing problem, and he didn’t suffer.’
It also emerged during the interview that Francis visited inmates in jail last week on Maundy Thursday, a day in which Catholics remember the Last Supper of Christ, where Jesus washed the feet of his 12 Apostles.
Dr Alfieri shared how the ‘Pope had been heartbroken that he hadn’t been able to wash the prisoners feet’.
Nuns wait in St. Peter’s Square to pay their respect to the late Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica for three days, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
An elderly man sits in St. Peter’s Square as people wait to pay their respects to the late Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica for three days, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
The body of Pope Francis lies in state at St Peter’s Basilica on April 23, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican
Cardinals pray in front the body of Pope Francis at Casa Santa Martaon April 23, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican
The open casket with the body of Pope Francis is carried in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on April 23, 2025
The body of Pope Francis lies in state at St Peter’s Basilica on April 23, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. On the third day since the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, his body is transferred from the Chapel of Santa Marta to the Basilica St Peter. He will lie in state in a simple wooden coffin until his funeral
A woman gestures as people queue at St Peter’s Square to enter the St Peter’s Basilica and pay respects to the late Pope in the Vatican on April 23, 2025
The open casket with the body of Pope Francis is carried in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on April 23, 2025
People line up to enter St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their respects to the late Pope Francis, where his body will lie in state for three days, in Vatican City, 23 April 2025. Faithful and well-wishers will be able to pay their respects to the spiritual leader, who died on 21 April 2025, aged 88, until his funeral on Saturday
Crowds began gathering in St. Peter’s Square just before 7am so they could be among the first to enter the basilica for the official lying in state.
Those wanting to file past the coffin have been told to expect a long wait and come prepared with water and snacks.
When Pope John Paul II died in 2005 more than four million people attended his lying in state and later funeral. Officials expect similar numbers for Francis.
Pallets of water bottles have been stockpiled along the main Via della Conciliazione, which leads to St. Peter’s, and first aid tents have also been set up.
Italian police have tightened security for the viewing and the funeral, carrying out foot and horse patrols around the Vatican, where pilgrims continued to arrive for the Holy Year celebrations that Francis opened in December.
The faithful who walk through St. Peter’s Holy Door are granted indulgences, a way to help atone for sins.
Metal detectors have also been installed at various key points and sharp shooters will be positioned on rooftops for Saturday’s funeral.
A conclave to choose the new pope is not expected to start before May 6. The cardinals now gathering in Rome will decide the date following what are often prolonged discussions.
People line up to see the body of Pope Francis is in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three day
This photograph shows a view of the coffin of the late Pope Francis on St Peter’s Square, as it is transported in a procession from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica, following the Pope’s death, in the Vatican on April 23, 2025
Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell, center, flanked by master of ceremonies Mons. Krzysztof Marcjanowicz, second right, and Archbishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli, right, blesses the body of Pope Francis inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three days
A nun reacts at St. Peter’s Square, on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ body and its transfer to Saint Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 202
Irish-born US Cardinal and camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell (centre) standing in front of the coffin of Pope Francis (Bottom) inside St Peter’s Basilica, during the ceremony following the procession of the late Pope’s coffin from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican
A view of the coffin of Pope Francis inside St Peter’s Basilica, during the ceremony following the procession of the late Pope’s coffin from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican
Clergy members wait for the arrival of Pope Francis’ body to St. Peter’s Basilica for three days of lying in state, ahead of his funeral, in Vatican City
Mourners wave flags as pallbearers carry the coffin of Pope Francis past them on the journey to Saint Peter’s Basilica
Italian cardinal Camillo Ruini arrives in St Peter’s Basilica ahead of the transfer of Pope Francis’ coffin for three days of lying in state, Vatican City, on April 23, 2025
Pope Francis’s coffin is carried into St Peter’s Basilica for three days of lying in state
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Pope Francis past faithful to Saint Peter’s Basilica this morning
Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti speaks to the members of the media, as he leaves the Vatican, on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ body, in Rome, Italy, April 23, 2025
Gianlorenzo Bernini’s monumental canopy serves as a dramatic frame as Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell leads the procession accompanying Pope Francis’s body into St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Pallbearers carry the coffin of late Pope Francis on St Peter’s Square, during the procession of the late Pope’s coffin from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica
There is no clear frontrunner to succeed Francis, although British bookmakers have singled out Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines, and Pietro Parolin, from Italy, as early favourites.
Tagle and Parolin stood together in the basilica, flanked by about 80 other cardinals, as the wooden coffin was laid on a dais in front of the altar, built on the spot where St. Peter, the first pope, is believed to have been buried after dying as a martyr in the reign of Emperor Nero (54-68 AD).
Francis’s body was dressed in red vestments, his hands clasped together holding a rosary, and a white mitre on his head. Cardinal Raymond Burke, a US-born conservative prelate who was often at odds with Francis during his 12-year papacy, was among those who approached the coffin and bowed.
Francis shunned much of the great pomp and ceremony traditionally associated with the role of head of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. He clashed repeatedly with traditionalists, who saw him as overly liberal and too accommodating to minority groups, such as the LGBTQ community.
In electing a new pope, cardinals will have to consider whether to complete Francis’ promised reform of the Church, making more room for women in senior positions and being more amenable to an evolving society, or opt for retrenchment.
Some 135 cardinals are eligible to participate in the secretive conclave, which can stretch over days before white smoke pouring from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel tells the world that a new pope has been picked.
Speculation is already rife on who should succeed Francis, who was from Argentina and was the first non-European pope in 1,300 years.
Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius suggested his fellow electors should again look beyond Europe, where Catholic congregations have been dwindling for years.
‘I believe it would be very natural to choose someone from Africa, Asia, or in any case from those parts of the world where the Church is, in some way, more alive, more dynamic, and with more of a future,’ Corriere della Sera newspaper quoted him as saying.
Clergymen walk past the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state for three days, after it arrived in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
The procession with Pope Francis’s coffin enters St Peter’s Basilica where his body will lie in state, in Vatican City today
Members of the clergy attend a ceremony inside St. Peter’s Basilica following the procession of the late Pope’s coffin from the chapel of Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican on April 23, 2025
Clergymen follow the procession with the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state for three days, entering St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
An interior view of the Basilica St Peter before the body of Pope Francis is transferred today
People queue on the day of the translation of Pope Francis’ body, which will be transported inside the Saint Peter’s Basilica today
Pedestrians walk on Via della Conciliazione in Rome, with a view of the Vatican’s St Peter Basilica after the transfer of the coffin of Pope Francis from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica, following the Pope’s death, on April 23, 2025
Irish-born US Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell (centre R) holding incense next to the coffin of late Pope Francis during the ceremony at St Peter’s basilica following the procession of the late Pope’s coffin from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica, in The Vatican
People watch as the coffin with the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica for three days, is carried in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Images released by the Vatican on Tuesday showed Francis lying in an open casket, wearing the traditional pointed headdress of bishops and red robes, his hands folded over a rosary
Ahead of his lying in state the pontiff’s body was embalmed and given a touch of make up. Francis first laid in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household.
Images released by the Vatican on Tuesday showed Francis lying in an open casket, wearing the traditional pointed headdress of bishops and red robes, his hands folded over a rosary. The Vatican’s No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, was pictured praying by Francis.
Cardinals are continuing their meetings this week to plan the conclave to elect Francis’ successor, make other decisions about running the Catholic Church as world leaders and the ordinary faithful grieve the pontiff’s death.
History’s first Latin American pontiff charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated many conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change.
He last appeared in public on Sunday with an Easter blessing and popemobile tour through a cheering crowd in St. Peter’s Square.
He had some reservations about looping through the square packed with 50,000 faithful, Vatican News reported on Tuesday, but overcame them – and was thankful that he had greeted the crowd. He died the next morning.
