Pope Francis died on Monday after 12 years as head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, during which time he made a name for himself as a pope of the marginalised.
Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.
His funeral on Saturday is expected to draw huge crowds as well as world leaders including United States President Donald Trump.
Italy is preparing a massive security operation for the ceremony, which will be held in front of St Peter’s Basilica. The pope’s coffin will then be transferred across Rome to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Lined in red silk, the pope’s wooden coffin has been set before St Peter’s altar, with Pope Francis dressed in his papal vestments – a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes – with a rosary in his hands.
Each mourner was ushered past the casket within seconds, many hurriedly catching the moment on their smartphones.
“It was a brief but intense moment next to his body,” Italian Massimo Palo, 63, told AFP after his visit.
“He was a pope amongst his flock, amongst his people, and I hope the next papacies will be a bit like his,” he added.
