More than 19,000 people pay homage to pope in first nine hours

by CNS · April 24, 2025

Cardinals process past the body of Pope Francis as he lies in state in an open casket in front of the Altar of the Confession in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican April 23, 2025. The pope will lie in state for three days of public viewing and prayer ahead of his funeral Mass April 26. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

By Carol Glatz, CNS – In the first nine hours that Pope Francis’ body had lain in state in St. Peter’s Basilica, more than 19,000 people stood in line for hours in the sun to pray and pay homage to him.

The doors of the basilica opened to the public a little after 11 a.m. local time after the pope’s simple wooden casket was transferred from his residence during a solemn prayer service. As of 7:30 p.m., 19,430 people had gone into the basilica, Matteo Bruni, head of the Vatican press office, told reporters at a news briefing April 23.

Thousands of people stood in line from three to five hours to see the pope, according to a small sample of visitors. The press office said the basilica was ready to extend its opening hours past midnight if the lines required they do so.

The public also would be able to view the pope’s open casket in St. Peter’s Basilica starting from 7 a.m. April 24 and 25, with closing times varying depending on the crowds. The official ceremony to close his casket was scheduled for 8 p.m. April 25 with his funeral scheduled for the next morning.

Vatican Media’s YouTube channel was broadcasting a live feed of the flow of visitors streaming into the basilica and gathered before the pope’s casket during the hours the basilica was open to the public April 23-25.

The heightened security and increasing numbers of visitors to the basilica led to a change in the program for those participating in the Jubilee of Adolescents.

The Dicastery for Evangelisation said the specially designated pilgrimage route down the wide boulevard to the basilica will no longer be accessible, and pilgrims will have to stand in the lines indicated by authorities to go through the Holy Door.

Additionally, on April 26 the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica was to remain closed until 3 p.m. because of the pope’s funeral in St. Peter’s Square and until 3 p.m. April 27 because of the celebration of a memorial Mass in the square.

However, pilgrims would be able to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Doors of the Basilicas of St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. John Lateran without the need for reservations, the dicastery added.

Meanwhile, 103 cardinals met in the early evening April 23 for their second general congregation, during which they discussed and approved the program for the nine formal Masses — called the “novendiali” for “nine days” — that are celebrated for a deceased pontiff and that start with the pope’s funeral April 26 at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, Bruni said.

The cardinals, who met for about an hour and a half, decided that the memorial Mass April 27 at 10:30 a.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica will be presided over by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, former secretary of state, and it will focus particularly on the employees and the faithful of Vatican City State.

The next seven Masses will be celebrated in the basilica at 5 p.m. each day and are open to the public but focused on a specific group.

Those presiding over the Masses are: Cardinal Baldassare Reina, papal vicar of Rome, April 28; Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, April 29; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, subdean of the College of Cardinals, April 30; Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, chamberlain, May 1; Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, former prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches, May 2; Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, former pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, May 3; and Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, protodeacon of the College of Cardinals, May 4.

The cardinals’ next meeting was scheduled for the morning of April 24.

Also, from April 23 to 26, the rosary will be recited at 9 p.m. at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, where Pope Francis will be buried after the funeral April 26.

Bruni also said that as of April 23, there were more than 2,200 journalists and members of the media accredited for events related to the death of Pope Francis. He said the press office had received about 4,000 requests for accreditation so far.