The Pope who lies in the state attracts tens of thousands to San Pedro

Vatican City – So many The mourners aligned to see Pope Francis in state In a simple wooden coffin inside the Basilica of San Pedro, the Vatican kept the doors open all night due to a higher participation than expected, closing the basilica for only one hour from Thursday morning to clean.

The Basilica closed from 6 am to 7 am, the planned opening schedule and, according to the French news agency News, Miles aligned themselves early to present their respects.

The Vatican said that about 48,600 people passed Francis‘Affin from 11 a.m. on Wednesday, when public taxes began, until 8:30 am on Thursday, News reported. Later on Thursday, the Vatican put the number at 61,000, News said.

The Vatican also announced that the pontiff’s tomb can be visited from Sunday morning, News reported.

The basilica is bathed in a silent silence while the mourners around the world make a slow and dragged procession through the main hall to present their latest respects to Francis, who He died Monday after a stroke and heart failure.

The hours dedicated to the alignment of the majestic through Della Coniliazione through the Plaza de San Pedro and through the Holy Gate to the Basilica allowed the mourners to find the community around the legacy of inclusion of the Argentine pontiff and the humble personality.

Emiliano Fernández, a Catholic from Mexico, was waiting in line around midnight, and after two hours he had not yet reached the basilica.

“I don’t even care how long I wait here. It’s just the opportunity to (show) how I admired Francisco in his life,” said Fernández, whose admiration for the Pope grew during his 2016 visit to Mexico. “I think for the respect I have for him and the great person who was, it is worth the wait.”

Among the mourners of the first day was a group of the Church of Children of 14 years of near Milan who arrived for the Canonization now suspended from the first Millennial Holyas well as a woman who prayed to the Pope for a successful operation and an Italian family that brought her young children to see the body of the Pope.

“We came because we did not bring them when I was alive, so we thought we would bring them for a final farewell,” said Rosa Scorpati, who left the basilica on Wednesday with her three children in cartoles. “They were good, but I don’t think they really understood because they haven’t had to deal with death yet.”

Like many others, Calabria’s Scorpati family was in Rome on a Easter holiday, only to meet with the Francis’s death news on Easter Monday.

For devotion to the Pope and his inclusion message, the faithful afflicted joined the procession of mourners who left the Plaza de San Pedro through the Holy Gate of the Basilica, with the repentance between them gaining an indulgence, a form of atonement granted during the Holy Year Jubileo. From there, the line extended through the central hall of the basilica to the simple wooden coffin of the Pope.

After three days of public visualization, a Funeral Mass, including Heads of State It will take place on Saturday in the Plaza de San Pedro. The Pope will be buried in a niche inside the Basilica Mayor of Santa María, near his favorite Madonna icon.

Francis’s death, who was 88, limited a 12 -year -old pontificate characterized by his concern for the poor and their inclusion message, but was also criticized by some conservatives who felt alienated for their progressive perspective.

TO The procession of priests, bishops and cardinals accompanied Francis’s body on Wednesday on his trip from a private observation within the Vatican to the Plaza de San Pedro. The Boato contrasts with the human interactions of rank mourners in public visualization.

Francis lay down in the state in an open coffin, perched on a ramp in front of the mourners, with four unemployed guards. When the crowd reached the coffin, many raised their smartphones to take a photo.

A nun who accompanies an old woman with a cane walked away sobbing: “My dad has left.”

Such despair was rare. The mood was more gratitude for a Pope who, with the example, had taught many people to open their minds.

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• Pope Francis