Huge crowds bid farewell to Pope Francis
AFP | Vatican City
Tens of thousands of mourners paid last respects to Pope Francis at St Peter's Basilica yesterday, on the first of three days of lying in state for the head of the world's Catholics.
Pilgrims and tourists queued for hours to file past the open coffin of the Argentine pontiff, who died on Monday aged 88.
'We wanted to say thank you to one of the most humble popes,' said Portuguese medical student Francisca Antunes, 21, after leaving the Vatican basilica with a friend. 'It felt really good to be in there,' she told AFP.
By 7:45 pm (1745 GMT), almost nine hours after the doors of the basilica opened to the public, more than 19,400 people had paid their respects, the Vatican said.
Simonetta Marini, a 67-yearold from Rome, praised Francis's human touch and defence of the world's underdogs, which helped steer the Catholic Church towards a more inclusive, compassionate path.
'I came to say a last goodbye to a great man. He stood for the people,' Marini said. Francis was an energetic reformer who took over as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics in 2013.
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