Pope Francis honoured by thousands of Catholic faithful at St Peter’s Basilica ahead of funeral

Thousands of people filed through the central aisle of St Peter’s Basilica to pay their final respects to Pope Francis on Wednesday, the start of three days of public viewing ahead of the pontiff’s funeral.

Throngs of ordinary faithful made their way slowly to the 16th-century basilica’s main altar, where Francis’ simple wooden casket was perched on a slight ramp, as four Swiss Guards stood at attention. Over the coming days, tens of thousands of people are expected to pass through the basilica, which is staying open until midnight to accommodate them.

Cardinals, meanwhile, met in private to finalise preparations for Saturday’s funeral and plan the conclave to elect Francis’ successor.

Francis died on Monday at age 88, capping a 12-year pontificate characterised by his concern for the poor and message of inclusion, but also some criticism from conservatives who sometimes felt alienated by his progressive bent.

Wednesday opened with the bells of St Peter’s tolling as pallbearers carried Francis’ body from the Vatican hotel where he lived into the basilica in a procession through the same piazza where he had delivered what became his final goodbye. Francis made a surprise Popemobile tour through the faithful on Easter Sunday, after being assured by his nurse he could despite his continued frail health from a bout of pneumonia.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is running the Vatican temporarily until a new pope is elected, led the procession down the central aisle to the altar, with clouds of incense preceding him and the choir chanting the Litany of Saints hymn. In pairs, cardinals in red cassocks approached the casket, bowed and made a sign of the cross, followed by small groups of purple-robbed bishops, black-clad ushers, priests and nuns – and then the doors were thrown open to the public.