An Irish couple who filed past Pope Francis’ open coffin have described the experience as “very overwhelming”.
Yesterday, Vatican officials estimated that some 90,000 people had queued up to pay their respects to the late Pontiff.
Newstalk’s Chief Reporter Barry Whyte is in Rome and described Saint Peter’s Basilica as “thronged” for the whole day.
“Today is the last day for mourners to pay their respects to the late Pope before eight o’clock tonight when there will be a ceremony for the closing of the coffin,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.
“Last night, queues of people lined the streets, the whole way down St Peter’s Square, [and] were queuing for hours.”
Among the crowd were Anne and David from Derry. The pair waited “about an hour and a half” to see the late Pope but said it had been “well worth it”.
“It’s a very special moment,” Anne said.
“We’re just here for a few days but we decided to come to see the Pope.
“It’s very overwhelming; it’s a once in a lifetime experience seeing the Pope, it’s just very special.”
Thousands of people are waiting to enter St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican tonight. It was quiet for a period during this afternoon, however queues stretch right down St Peter’s Square right now.
The Vatican say that the basilica will again remain open late if needed to… pic.twitter.com/kCkIYLZtMU
— Barry Whyte (@BarryWhyte85) April 24, 2025
David described it as a “historic moment” to be a part of.
“It’s not every year or even lifetime that you see a Pope passing away,” he said.
“I think that Francis was trying to bring the Catholic Church in the right direction.”
He added that he was “surprised” there were so many people there to pay tribute to Francis.
“It has been extremely well organised,” he said.
“They started filtering the crowds from about half a mile down there and once you get to this stage it actually flowed very quickly and smoothly.
“Many, many Italians but [there were also] people from everywhere throughout the world, obviously, listening to the accents and the languages that we heard.”
Thousands of people continue to make their way to St Peter's to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, with St Peter's remaining open til 2:30 Friday morning and reopening at 5:40 to accommodate the crowds of mourners. Since Wednesday, more than 125,000 people have have come… pic.twitter.com/iFyqOr6lJv
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 25, 2025
Pope Francis will be laid to rest on Saturday. President Michael D Higgins, Sabina Higgins, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris will be attendance.
An invitation for First Minister Michelle O'Neill is under discussion.
Main image: The body of Pope Francis rests in a simple coffin. Picture by: Marco Cordone/ZUMA Press Wire/Alamy.com.
