In St Peter’s Basilica, teary-eyed faithful pay final respects to pope

Vatican City: 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 open 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.

Many people paying their respects had come to Rome to celebrate Easter, on a spring vacation or other personal business, only to be met with the news of Francis’ death on Easter Monday. Out of devotion to the Argentine pope and his message of inclusion, they joined the procession of mourners that wended through the Holy Door and down the central aisle of the basilica.

Francis was laid out in red robes, clasping a rosary and wearing a bishop’s miter, the traditional pointed headdress. Mourners waited hours to reach the casket — which sat behind a cordon — some holding their cell phones aloft as they neared him to snap photos in what has become a modern ritual.

“It gave me chills,” said Ivenes Bianco, as she left the basilica. She was in Rome from the southern city of Brindisi for medical care, and had come to pay her respects.“He brought many people together.’’ a