Sawt Falasteen - Tens of thousands say goodbye to Pope Francis lying in state

A long line of pilgrims and tourists stretched across the sprawling St Peter's Square before the doors opened at 11:00 am (0900 GMT), when the public were allowed inside to file past the open coffin.

"I came to say a last goodbye to a great man. He stood for the people," Simonetta Marini, 67, a Roman pensioner, told AFP.

Francis, an energetic reformer who took over as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics in 2013, died on Monday aged 88. He had recently been hospitalised for five weeks with pneumonia.

Dressed in his papal vestments -- a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes -- and with a rosary laced between his fingers, the pope's body has been laid out in a red-lined wooden coffin.

For the next three days, it will rest on a low bier before the Altar of the Confession underneath the soaring dome painted by Michelangelo, before being closed at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Friday evening ahead of Saturday's funeral.

Vincenza Nocilla, a 67-year-old retired nurse, left her home in Formia, south of Rome, at 4:00 am to be among the first to see the pontiff.

"It was really moving," she said after exiting the basilica, adding: "They don't let you stay long, you walk by, say a quick goodbye and go."

A retired Irish couple in their 60s said that despite being on holiday in Rome, it was a "priority" to come see Francis, whom they said had made efforts in their country to address the problem of clerical sexual abuse.

"He was a great man, a great advocate for the poor, the underprivileged and those who suffered at the hands of his flock," said Cliodhna Devlin.

- Procession of cardinals -

Authorities said some 20,000 people were in line to enter the basilica when the doors opened. Inside, the crowd stood about 10 abreast, slowly advancing down the nave towards the casket.

Hours before, a procession of cardinals, clergy and Swiss Guards escorted Francis's coffin from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, where he lived during his 12-year papacy, to St Peter's.

Bells from the basilica rang out as the coffin was carried by pallbearers past packed crowds in St Peter's Square, who snapped photos and applauded.

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

Afterwards, Francis's coffin will be taken 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.

- 'Sorely missed' -

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

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

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

Pasquale Apolito, a 43-year-old Rome teacher, was at St Peter's Square earlier Wednesday to catch a glimpse of Francis's coffin passing by.

"I felt something inside me this morning that told me to come," Apolito 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 to meet -

After the funeral, all eyes will turn to the process to choose Francis's successor.

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 in the conclave, which should begin no less than 15 days and no more than 20 after the pope's death.

A second meeting of cardinals 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 is chosen.

Francis's death came less than a month after he was discharged from the hospital, where he spent five weeks battling double pneumonia.

Despite doctors calling for two months of rest, Francis continued to make appearances in public during his convalescence, where he appeared short of breath.

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

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F.AbuShamala--SF-PST