Converging lines: Thousands wait hours to pay respects to Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY — After the casket bearing Pope Francis’ body was placed in St. Peter’s Basilica, tens of thousands of mourners lined up to pay their respects.

The open casket was transferred April 23 from the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where the pope had lived, to the basilica.

As the day progressed, two lines — one to the right of the basilica, the other circling around the left — formed. Moving at a snail’s pace, the lines converged at security checkpoints underneath the colonnade around St. Peter’s Square before joining as one massive line heading through the Holy Door and turning toward the central nave.

Waiting times varied, with some told to expect a three- or four-hour wait, while some people leaving the basilica had said it had taken nearly five hours.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, said that in the first 24 hours viewing was open to the public, that is as of 11 a.m. April 24, more than 50,000 people paid their respects to Pope Francis, who died April 21.

The Vatican had originally announced that the basilica would close at midnight April 23-24. However, given the turnout, viewing hours were extended, with the basilica finally closing for 90 minutes at 5:30 a.m.

By April 24, coordination efforts with Rome police and civil protection agencies seemed more streamlined. Toward the north of the basilica, one massive line stretched across Rome’s Risorgimento Square leading to security checkpoints with volunteers sporting neon green vests guiding crowds along the city’s bustling streets.

By 8 a.m., thousands were already slowly making their way to the basilica.

Another line of pilgrims formed heading down the main road — Via della Conciliazione — leading to the basilica while a third line formed at the southern entrance, toward the left of the Bernini colonnade.

Consuelo and Ana, two friends from Valencia, Spain, who were in Italy on a group trip when the pope’s death was announced, spoke to Catholic News Service as they stood in line April 23.

The pope’s death “was a total surprise,” Ana said. “We had booked this flight in January, and when he got sick, we were a little concerned, but we did not expect it.”

“His death truly was a surprise,” Consuelo added. “We saw him during Holy Week and even though he looked very weak, we did not expect him to pass away!”

The two friends told CNS that despite the heat from the Roman sun and an estimated four-hour waiting time ahead of them, they wanted to pay their respects.

Consuelo said she was saddened by Pope Francis’ death “because he gave himself to the people. He was a pope who wanted a church that was closer to today’s reality. And it hurts, it hurts (that he is gone). The church should open itself more to 21st-century society and that’s what he tried to do.”

Ana told CNS she was unfazed by the long wait in line and was “willing to wait until the end.”

“Look, I am an atheist, but I still admired him,” she said. “He was an exemplary pope who knew how to open up to new things, to a new society, to new worlds. I am here for this historic moment and taking advantage of the opportunity of being here in Rome.”