The Basilica of San Pedro remained open all night on Wednesday and early Thursday due to the great crowd They lined up to say goodbye to Pope Francis.
On the morning of April 23, the body of the Holy Father was transferred in a solemn procession from the Santa Marta house to the Basilica of San Pedro.
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From 11:00 in the morning yesterday until 8:30 in the morning of Thursday, 48,600 people have presented their respects to the body of Pope Francis in the Basilica of San Pedro.
The faithful and pilgrims waited for hours their turn under the sun in the early hours of the morning. The Basilica was expected to close at 12:00 at night, but due to the large multitude of people who wanted to say goodbye to the Holy Father, it has remained open until 5:30 in the morning today.
According to the Vatican, the basilica has only closed an hour and a half, until 7:00, to allow cleaning work.
The rows of pilgrims are endless. Faithful from all over the world have arrived in Rome to pay tribute to the Holy Father, who died on April 21 at 88 years.
The entrance to the Basilica has been divided into three different rows: on the left and right of the temple and a central one, reserved for the pilgrims who have traveled to participate in the Jubileo de la Esperanza.
This weekend the jubilee of adolescents is celebrated in Rome, in which around 70 thousand people will participate.
The faithful around the world will continue to arrive in the eternal city during these days. Tomorrow, April 25, it will be the last day in which the faithful can say goodbye to the Holy Father.
At 7:00 p.m., the Basilica will close and an hour later, Camarlengo, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, will preside over the rite of Pope Francis’s coffd, as planned in the The Roman Pontiff.
It is a private rite made in the Basilica of San Pedro in the presence of different church authorities in which the preparation of the Pope’s body is carried out for his grave.
They also reported that on Saturday, April 26, at the end of the exequial mass, the coffin of Pope Francis will be accompanied to the papal basilica of Santa María la Mayor for his grave.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
Graduated in journalism and advertising from the CEU San Pablo University of Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. It has been a senior correspondent for ACI Press and Ewtn News at the Vatican for two years and is currently a correspondent for Europe based on Spain.