Vatican says 250,000 people viewed Pope Francis' body

The Vatican on Friday said about 250,000 people paid respects to Pope Francis during a three-day lying in state at St. Peter's Basilica ahead of his funeral.

The number of people who filed past Francis' coffin between 11:00 am (0900 GMT) on Wednesday and 7:00 pm on Friday, when the public viewing ended, was higher than the estimated 195,000 that the lying in state of Benedict XVI drew in 2023.

The wooden coffin, in which the pope lies wearing a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes, with a rosary laced around his fingers, was then closed in a private ceremony on Friday night.

The Catholic Church's first Latin American pope died on Monday aged 88, less than a month after spending weeks in hospital fighting severe pneumonia.

Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed those on the fringes of society in his 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

"It was like saying goodbye to a father" who "loved me and will continue to love me as and more than before," said Filipa Castronovo, 76, an Italian nun, after seeing the coffin on Friday.

"We love the pope, we feel blessed to see him a last (time)," said Michelle Alcaide, 35, from the Philippines.

More than 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs are expected to attend Saturday's funeral, alongside around 200,000 mourners. — Agence France-Presse