Updated On: 25 April, 2025 09:23 AM IST | Vatican City | Agencies
The basilica is bathed in a hushed silence as mourners from across the globe make a slow, shuffling procession up the main aisle to pay their last respects to Francis, who died Monday after a stroke.

Visitors inside St Peter’s Basilica to pay their respects as Pope Francis’s body lies in state at The Vatican. Pic/AFP
So many mourners lined up to see Pope Francis lying in state in a simple wooden coffin inside St Peter’s Basilica that the Vatican kept the doors open all night due to higher-than-expected turnout, closing the basilica for just an hour Thursday morning for cleaning.
The basilica is bathed in a hushed silence as mourners from across the globe make a slow, shuffling procession up the main aisle to pay their last respects to Francis, who died Monday after a stroke.