People wait in long queues to enter Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican to see late Pope Benedict XVI lying in state
Thousands of people visited the Vatican to pay their final respects to the Pope Benedict XVI, after he died at the age of 95.
According to a report in Euronews on Monday, January 2, more than 60,000 people visited the St. Peter´s Basilica where the former Pope is lying in state.
Benedict’s body has been laid out on a casket covered with a gold cloth in front of the altar.
People were reported waiting in queues around the St. Peter´s Square in the Vatican from dawn.
Security official in Italy said that they were expecting at least 25,000 to 30,000 people, after his body was transferred from a Vatican monastery to St Peter’s Basilica on Monday at 7am.
He will lie in state for the next three days before his funeral on Thursday.
Among the first people to enter St Peter’s Basilica, were the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, and the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.
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