VATICAN CITY — Three days of public viewing of Pope Francis' body ended Friday evening, after some 250,000 people paid their respects to a pontiff beloved by many for his gestures of compassion and humility, and outreach to outsiders, immigrants and the downtrodden.
Earlier, crowds packed into St. Peter’s Square to line up to say their final goodbyes to Francis, and hundreds ended up being turned away when the square was closed hours before the viewing period ended at 7 p.m. (1 p.m. ET). On Wednesday and Thursday, larger-than-expected crowds prompted officials to extend opening hours overnight.
Friday was Liberation Day, which commemorates Italy’s liberation from Nazi occupation and fascist rule, so many people may have waited for this opportunity to bid farewell to the pope before his coffin was closed.
Giovanni Guarino told The Associated Press that he had driven from Naples in southern Italy with his girlfriend, having been moved by Francis' efforts to help young and disadvantaged people.
“I hope that his successor follows the footsteps of Francis,” Guarino told the news agency.
According to the Vatican, 250,000 people came to St. Peter’s Basilica, where Francis’ body was displayed in a simple wooden coffin placed on the floor facing the congregation. He wore red robes and a bishop’s miter, and held a rosary in his hands.
Later Friday, Francis' casket will be sealed as part of a series of meticulously observed rites that define a pope's death.
A white cloth will be placed over the pope’s face, and a bag containing coins minted during his papacy will be put in the coffin along with a one-page written account of his papacy.
On Saturday, he will be buried after a funeral Mass, which will be attended by heads of state, royals, prelates and ordinary mourners.
The Vatican is welcoming 164 delegations for the funeral, including 54 heads of state and 12 reigning sovereigns.
Among these is President Donald Trump, who will be seated according to French alphabetical order. French is the official diplomatic language at the Vatican, which means the United States will be sitting with the letter E because in French it is “États-Unis.”
Trump will be sitting between Finland and Estonia; he will not be as close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he would have been if seated in the English alphabetical order. The funeral will be the first time the two are together since the unprecedented clash in the White House Oval Office on February 28.
Other public figures planning to attend the funeral are: French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.K. heir to the throne Prince William, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The work to choose a new pope won't start until May 5 at the earliest — nine days of public mourning.
