LAST UPDATE | 23 Apr

CLOSE TO 20,000 people had viewed Pope Francis’s coffin in St Peter’s Basilica as of 7.30pm this evening, according to the Vatican.

From 11am this morning, mourners have been able to file into St Peter’s as the the body of the late Argentine pontiff began three days of lying in state.

By the afternoon, the wait to enter the church was more than four hours, as the long line of pilgrims and tourists wishing to pass by the pontiff’s open coffin circled the vast St Peter’s Square.

Visitors at the Vatican today, where Pope Francis's body is lying in state Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

St Peter’s is due to remain open until midnight tonight and tomorrow night, but the Vatican said that because of the large turnout it was considering keeping the basilica open past midnight.

It will close to the public at 7pm on Friday, ahead of Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell presiding over the rite of the closing of Francis’ coffin at 8pm. 

His funeral will take place at 10am on Saturday.

Francis, who took over as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics in 2013 following the resignation of Benedict XVI, died on Monday aged 88.

His death, after a stroke, came nearly a month after he was released from hospital where he spent 38 days being treated for pneumonia.

Dressed in his papal vestments – a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes – and with a rosary laced between his fingers, the pope’s body has been laid out in a red-lined wooden coffin.

For three days, it will rest on a low bier before the Altar of the Confession underneath the soaring dome painted by Michelangelo.

This morning, Drimnagh-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell oversaw the ceremony this morning to move the remains of Francis from the chapel in Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica.

Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell presides over ceremony to lay Francis's body in St Peter's Basilica Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Francis’s remains had been in Santa Marta as he chose to stay in the Vatican’s guesthouse as opposed to residing in the more luxurious apostolic palace.

In his autobiography, Hope, Francis said that he chose to live in Santa Marta because he “cannot live without people around me”.

While Francis said this “caused some minor turmoil” at the time, he remarked that “ot even the pope can save himself alone”.

“Throughout my life I have benefited from the presence of many saintly people next door,” wrote Francis.

“Mostly simple people, who perhaps didn’t even go to church, or went two or three times a year, but who led a dignified life, earned their bread, cared for others.

“And at Santa Marta, I meet many of them every day, men and women who work with humility, hidden away, with a genuine spirit of charity and service.”

Farrell will also oversee Francis’s burial on Saturday morning at Santa Maria Maggiore, one of four papal basilicas in Rome – the last pope to be buried outside the Vatican was Leo XIII, who died in 1903.

Scores of world leaders and dignitaries plan to attend Saturday’s funeral, including US President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Argentine President Javier Milei and Spain’s royal couple.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, and President Michael D Higgins are also scheduled to attend.

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Up to 170 foreign delegations are expected, the Vatican’s interior ministry said.

A spokesman for Italy’s civil protection unit said that while it is impossible to predict the expected crowds, is it estimated “several hundred thousand at least” will attend.

Meanwhile, here at home, Archbishop Eamon Martin, the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, will celebrate mass tomorrow evening at 7pm in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh in memory of Francis.

“As we give thanks for Pope Francis’ ministry, we also undertake the solemn duty of prayerfully commending his soul to God,” said Martin.

Armagh is one of a number of churches around Ireland celebrating a Memorial Mass to allow parishioners to gather and pray together for Francis.

Elsewhere, RTÉ has released details of its coverage of Francis’s funeral.

At 8.30am on RTÉ One and RTE Player, David McCullagh and Sharon Ní Bheoláin will present a special programme featuring coverage of the funeral, with Áine Lawlor and Fr Michael Collins providing commentary of the ceremony.

On RTÉ Radio 1, special coverage of the funeral will be presented by Dearbhail McDonald from 8.30am, while Colm Ó Mongáin and Fr Thomas McCarthy will provide live radio commentary.  

The RTÉ News channel will also broadcast wider coverage of events from early morning.