A motley crowd arrives at St. Peter’s Square to say goodbye to the “Pope of the Poor”, Pope Francis who passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88.
Tens of thousands have already worshiped Pope Francis’ body, and at 7am on Thursday morning the popular pilgrimage began. Today the popular pilgrimage will last until midnight, and will begin at 7am on Friday and will take 12 hours to make the necessary preparations for Pontiff’s funeral.
On Wednesday morning, about 20,000 people gathered to see the cardinals and priests to accompany the casket from the Pope’s personal residence in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The bells were constantly ringing during the procession that lasted 40 minutes, and the crowd burst into applause.
See live picture from the popular pilgrimage:
Pope Francis was dressed in his vestments, holding a rosary, while the open casket is dressed in red fabric.
Presidents and kings from around the world will attend the funeral on Saturday, including Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
According to Pontiff’s wish, Pope Francis will not be buried in St. Peter, like most of his predecessors, but in a church dedicated to Panagia in the center of Rome, under a tombstone that will only be named.