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The conclave to select the next pontiff has not started yet, but meetings to set the agenda were underway, and the church released the first image of Francis’ tomb.
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Tens of Thousands Line Up to Honor Pope Francis
More than 60,000 people have paid their respects to the late pope’s body in St. Peter’s Basilica since Wednesday, according to the Vatican. The church stayed open until 5:30 a.m. on Thursday and reopened at 7 a.m. as thousands more lined up to file past his coffin.
“It was actually, it wasn’t planned. We just decided to come last-minute. So we came — flew from Dublin last night. We’re staying for one day, home tonight then. So it just felt it was very important to be here.” “I’ve been here for two hours now already. And we’re not even in there yet. But I don’t even care how many time I wait here. It’s just the opportunity to have this, and how I admired Francisco in his life. And when I saw him in Mexico, it was just an amazing experience that I will never forget. So I think because of the respect that I have for him and the great person he was, it’s worth the wait.”
By Emma Bubola
Reporting from Vatican City
Priests, pilgrims and cardinals dressed in black robes and red sashes mixed in the streets of the Vatican on Thursday as tens of thousands of Catholics paid their respects to Pope Francis and preparations for his funeral accelerated.
The church also released the first image of the pope’s tomb — a simple, undecorated affair in accordance with his will — made with marble from the Liguria region of Italy and marked with the inscription, “Franciscus.”
Image
The conclave to select the next pope has not yet started — the Vatican has not announced when voting will begin — but cardinals on Thursday morning held their third congregation meeting in the Holy See’s apostolic palace since Francis died on Easter Monday.
During the gatherings, the cardinals decide on the logistics of the mourning period, but Vatican experts say they can also set the agenda for the conclave and privately lay out their priorities as they get ready to choose the next pope. More cardinals have arrived in Rome in recent days ahead of Francis’ funeral on Saturday.
As they trickled out of a door in the Vatican near the Sant’Anna church on Wednesday, after their second meeting since Francis died, some cardinals outlined topics that they wanted the church to focus on.
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