Tens of thousands of mourners are queuing around the clock to pay respects to Pope Francis after the Vatican abandoned its plan to close St. Peter’s Basilica overnight.

Huge crowds thronged St Peter’s Square in Vatican City, queuing for hours to see the late pontiff in his open coffin ahead of his funeral this weekend.

Waves of mourners stood patiently in line after Francis’s remains were transferred to St Peter’s Basilica yesterday, with the queue snaking its way through the square to the Holy Door of the building.

Some 19,430 people had been to the basilica ‘to pay homage to Pope Francis’ less than 12 hours after his coffin was transferred there, and where it will stay until Friday. 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was among those who paid their respects to Francis yesterday, with photographs showing how she solemnly approached his casket just hours after having praised him during her address to Parliament.

Meloni celebrated Francis’ ability to talk freely with anyone, despite his exalted position, praised his fortitude and courage to ‘go against the current’, and shared with lawmakers some personal advice he gave her: ‘Never lose your sense of humour.’

‘With him you were at ease, you could open up, without filters, without fear of being judged,’ she added. ‘He could see your soul, lay it bare.’

While it had been expected that St, Peter’s would close at midnight on Wednesday and Thursday, it remained open throughout the night to allow more people to pay their respects.

By late yesterday evening, the wait appeared to be three or four hours and growing. An official doing crowd management estimated that the wait was closer to five hours. 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was among those who paid their respects to Pope Francis at the St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday

Waves of mourners stood patiently in line at the Vatican today to pay their respects after Pope Francis’s remains were transferred to St Peter’s Basilica yesterday

Boys lie on the side of a road this morning as they queue to enter St. Peter’s Basilica to pay respect as Pope Francis lies in state

Security measures have been heightened around the Vatican, with Italian police conducting foot and horse patrols in the area.

Police have been managing crowd control at various points on the approach to the square, with some checking bags, as mourners mingled with the usual tourist population.

Large crowds are expected for Saturday’s funeral in St Peter’s Square, with the Prince of Wales, a future head of the Church of England, confirmed to be attending on the King’s behalf.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will also be there, alongside other global leaders and dignitaries including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Irish premier Micheal Martin and Irish President Michael D Higgins.

In accordance with the late pope’s wishes, Francis will be buried at the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome, breaking with the tradition of papal burials in St Peter’s Basilica.

Asked about the route the pope’s remains will take from the square to his final resting place, the Vatican spokesman said he expects the Italian authorities will provide details in due course.

He added that it is likely St Mary Major will close for Saturday afternoon when the Pope’s remains arrive following the funeral, but reopen for people to take part in the rosary there on Saturday evening.

A nun reads a book early this morning as she waits in line with others to view Pope Francis lying in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica

The Vatican abandoned its plan to close St. Peter’s Basilica overnight as queues of mourners lined up in St. Peter’s Square to pay homage to the pontiff

People stand in line as they wait to enter St. Peter’s Basilica this morning. An official doing crowd management estimated that the wait to enter the church is around five hours

Nuns and the faithful line up along the walls of the Vatican today to pay homage to Francis

Huge crowds are expected today for a glimpse of Francis’s body on the second day of public tributes, after St Peter’s stayed open almost all night to accommodate the crowds.

Close to 20,000 people filtered past the Catholic leader’s red-lined wooden coffin in the first eight hours of the lying in state on Wednesday. 

Each mourner was ushered past the casket within seconds, many hurriedly catching the moment on their smartphones. Instead of closing at midnight, the Vatican allowed people in until 5.30am (3.30 GMT) this morning, before reopening at 7am.

Mourners from across the globe made a slow, shuffling procession up the main aisle of St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their last respects to Francis yesterday, finding community as they spent hours waiting to reach his open casket. 

Among those filing past the coffin, some blessing themselves with the sign of the cross or pausing briefly in prayer, were a mother and daughter who described it as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience.

Primary school teacher Marguerite O’Leary and her teenage daughter Ellen, from County Clare in Ireland, stood for more than five hours on Wednesday to be among the first members of the public to see the late pontiff’s remains inside St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Mrs O’Leary said she felt it was their ‘duty to represent the people of Ireland when we were lucky enough to be here’ in the days following the Pope’s death aged 88 on Easter Monday, while her 14-year-old daughter described it as ‘amazing to be in there’ and a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’.

A Vatican Gendarmerie officer gesticulates, warning the faithful not to take photographs of the body of Pope Francis as they pay homage to him yesterday

Primary school teacher Marguerite O’Leary and her teenage daughter Ellen, (pictured together) from County Clare in Ireland, stood for more than five hours on Wednesday to be among the first members of the public to see the late pontiff’s remains

Nuns enter the Basilica yesterday after queuing for hours in St. Peter’s Square to pay homage to the late Pope Francis

Queues are wrapping around St. Peter’s Basilica this morning as the faithful wait to pay their respects to Pope Francis as he lies in state

Meanwhile, Patrick Gavigan, based in Kildare, said it was ‘momentous’ to be inside the basilica to witness the Pope’s remains close up after queuing with his wife Alice for almost four hours.

The retired couple, who are in Rome celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary year, said they were ‘so happy’ to have been able to experience what they said was a historic occasion.

One nun accompanying an elderly woman with a cane walked away from the coffin sobbing, ‘My pope is gone’. 

But such despair was rare, with the mood more one of gratitude for a pope who had, by example, taught many people to open their minds.

‘I am very devoted to the pope,’ said Ivenes Bianco. ‘He was important to me because he brought many people together by encouraging coexistence.’ 

She cited Francis’ acceptance of the gay community and his insistence on helping the poor.

Riccardo Ojedea from Colombia said his experience waiting in line for two hours to pay respects to the pope had shown him how much ‘humanity loves the pope’. 

‘He left a very important legacy for everyone,’ he said, ‘to make this world happier’.

Magdalene Kivondo carries a religious statue, with a rosary, while queuing to enter St. Peter’s Basilica this morning 

Mourners queue this morning to pay respect as Pope Francis lies in state at St. Peter’s Basilica

People wait in a queue outside Vatican City this morning as Pope Francis lies in state

Students pose for a photo in front of St. Peter’s Basilica this today as Pope Francis lies in state

After three days of public viewing, a funeral Mass including heads of state will be held Saturday in St. Peter’s Square. 

The pope will then be buried in a niche within the St. Mary Major Basilica, near his favourite Madonna icon.

The death of Francis, who was 88, capped a 12-year pontificate characterised by his concern for the poor and his message of inclusion, but he was also criticised by some conservatives who felt alienated by his progressive outlook.

A procession of priests, bishops and cardinals accompanied Francis’ body Wednesday on its journey from a private viewing inside the Vatican to St. Peter´s Square. 

The pageantry contrasted with the human interactions of rank-and-file mourners at the public viewing.