Pope Francis’s coffin began its transfer to St Peter’s Basilica Wednesday for three days of lying in state, with thousands of well-wishers gathering to pay their respects to the leader of the world’s Catholics before he is laid to rest.

Crowds gathered in St Peter’s Square from early morning to catch a glimpse of the Argentine pope, who died on Monday aged 88, and to begin queuing for the public viewing which begins at 11:00 am (0900 GMT).

Francis died in the Casa Santa Marta, the modest residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy. His body was moved from the chapel there to St Peter’s on Wednesday morning.

Accompanied by a procession including red-robed cardinals, his simple wood coffin will enter through the central door of the basilica before being placed before the Altar of the Confession.

Anna Montoya, 33, from Mexico, said she decided to come to bid farewell in person as Francis was like “a family member” to her.

“I had to come… it feels like I knew him,” she told AFP, adding: “He was a good man. He represented what the church needs to be, what Jesus wanted to teach us.”

Saturday’s funeral is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, as well as world leaders including US President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as Britain’s Prince William.

Afterwards, Francis’s coffin will be transported to his favourite church, Rome’s papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where it will be interred in the ground and marked by a simple inscription: Franciscus.

He will become the first pope in more than 100 years to be laid to rest outside the Vatican.

Sorely missed

Italy is preparing for a major security operation for the funeral, with the weekend already due to be busy because of a public holiday on Friday April 25.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said authorities were expecting between 150 to 170 foreign delegations, and tens of thousands of people.

Barriers have already been installed inside and outside the basilica to control the crowds, security checks have been increased and staff have been distributing bottles of water due to the warm weather.

Pasquale Apolito, 43 a Rome teacher, said he came to the Vatican early on Wednesday hoping to catch a last glimpse of the pontiff before leaving town.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to see the body but I wanted to be here today. I felt something inside me this morning that told me to come,” he said.

“He was a guide for his capacity to listen, to welcome. He will be sorely missed.”

Italy has declared five days of national mourning — longer than the three days observed for Polish pope John Paul II in 2005, but less than the week declared for Francis by his native Argentina.

Cardinals meeting

After the funeral, all eyes will turn to the process to choose Francis’s successor as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Cardinals around the world have already been sent letters from the Holy See, instructing them to return to Rome to select a new pope.

Only those under the age of 80 are eligible to vote for a pope in the conclave, which should begin no less than 15 days and no more than 20 after the death of the pope.

About 60 cardinals of all ages already in Rome met Tuesday to choose the funeral date, in a so-called “general congregation”.

A second meeting is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, led by the camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is charged with running the day-to-day operations of the Holy See before a successor to Francis is chosen.

Francis’s death came less than a month after he was discharged from the hospital, where he spent five weeks battling pneumonia in both lungs.

Despite doctors calling for two months of rest, Francis continued to make appearances in public during his convalescence, where he appeared short of breath and without energy.

On Easter Sunday, the day before his death, he circled St Peter’s Square in his popemobile following mass and his traditional address to greet the crowds, stopping to kiss babies along the way.

The next morning, he died at 7:35 am after having suffered a stroke, a coma and heart failure, according to his death certificate.

Images of Francis from Monday night lying in his open coffin inside the Casa Santa Marta chapel were published by the Vatican Tuesday.

The unassuming pope, who eschewed pomp, was dressed in red papal vestments, with a mitre on his head and a rosary laced between his fingers.

Sister Maria Guadeloupe Hernandez Olivo, from Mexico, said it was “very hard, very sad” to hear news of his death.

“I did not expect it,” she told AFP in St Peter’s Square, adding: “I believe he’s in a better place, no longer suffering, but I do feel this emptiness for our pastor.”

AFP