Thousands of faithful have gathered since the early hours of Sunday at Rome’s Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major to pray and pay their respects to Pope Francis who died last Easter Monday.
The flow of faithful has continued uninterrupted since 7 am when the basilica opened its doors, but many had been queuing outside the church gates since the crack of dawn.
According to sources at the Questura in Rome, some 20,000 people had reached the basilica by midday, 13,000 of whom had already entered.
Several Eucharistic celebrations have been held in the side chapels of the basilica since opening time with a main mass at 10 am at the central altar.
Due to the long queue, the faithful are invited to a very short prayer with a pause of only a few seconds in front of the pope’s tomb near the effigy of the Salus Populi Romani.
What Pope Francis’ tomb looks like
The tomb is simple, lit by a warm light, adorned only with a reproduction of the late pontiff’s pectoral cross. Only “Francisus”, the late pontiff’s Latin name, is engraved on the pale marble, and a single white rose is laid.
Visits will be allowed until around 7 pm on Sunday and then resume throughout the following days of official mourning, after which the Conclave to elect the next head of the Catholic Church will be held.
No date has yet been set but the College of Cardinals must begin by 10 May, according to the dictates of canon law.
Huge crowds descend on the Vatican
The faithful also continued to flock to St Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday. According to the Vatican press office, about 200,000 people were present from St Peter’s Square through to Via della Conciliazione, from Piazza Pia to Piazza Risorgimento.
The solemn mass was presided over by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, former Secretary of State and one of the favourites for the next Conclave.
Access to the square was blocked at around 10:30 am due to maximum capacity being reached. The faithful who were unable to access the parvis settled in Piazza Risorgimento and Piazza Pia to follow the mass from the jumbo screens.
Hundreds of young pilgrims in St Peter’s Square for the Jubilee of Teenagers
In addition to the people who came to Rome to pray for Pope Francis, thousands of young pilgrims from all over the world were present in the Vatican for the Jubilee of Teenagers.
The three-day programme dedicated to the youth underwent some changes and the canonisation of Carlo Acutis, considered the first “millenial saint”, was postponed.
During the emotional mass in suffrage of Pope Francis, Cardinal Parolin reminded the young people that the Pope would have loved to meet them.
”Easter joy, which sustains us in the hour of trial and sadness, is something that can almost be touched in this square today,” he said during his homily.
ADVERTISEMENT“You can see it etched above all in your faces, dear children and adolescents who have come from all over the world to celebrate the Jubilee. You come from so many places: from all the dioceses of Italy, from Europe, from the United States to Latin America, from Africa to Asia, from the Arab Emirates. With you the whole world is truly present.”
”To you I address a special greeting, and to the bishops and priests who have accompanied you, with the desire to make you feel the embrace of the Church and the affection of Pope Francis, who would have liked to meet you, look you in the eyes, pass among you to greet you,” Parolin added to applause in the Piazza.
