Tens of thousands of mourners filed into St. Peterโs Basilica on Friday to pay final respects to Pope Francis ahead of his funeral on Saturday.
Long queues snaked around St. Peterโs Square and the surrounding roads, before being funnelled through the heart of the basilica in a single column leading to the central altar, where Francisโ open-topped coffin was displayed on a dais.
The basilica was open for most of Thursday evening into Friday morning, shutting its doors for only three hours overnight.
The body of the 88-year-old pope, who died on Monday in his rooms at the Vaticanโs Santa Marta guest house after suffering a stroke, was brought to St. Peterโs in a solemn procession on Wednesday.
Since then, about 150,000 people from all over the world have bid farewell to the pontiff, the Vatican said.
โItโs a very strong feeling (to be here),โ said Patricio Castriota, a visitor who, like the pope, is from Argentina. โThis farewell was very sad, but I thank God that I was able to see himโ.