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.
Italy is preparing a massive security operation for his funeral on Saturday in front of St Peter’s.
World leaders including US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy due to join hundreds of thousands of mourners.
“SENSE OF PEACE”
Lined in red silk, the pope’s wooden coffin has been set before St Peter’s altar, with 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.
Argentine Federico Rueda, 46, said that despite the rush, he would not have missed the opportunity.
“It is worth missing out on other places to say goodbye to an Argentine: a very worthy pope,” he said as he stood proudly wearing the jersey of Argentina’s national football team, the current world champions.
Mexican Leobardo Guevara, 24, draped in his country’s flag, said he felt “a sense of peace” as he filed past the body of the first pope from the Americas.
