St. Peter’s Basilica Reopens as Thousands Pay Respects to Pope Francis for Second Day

 Vatican City | April 24, 2025 — St. Peter’s Basilica once again opened its grand doors to mourners on Thursday, as tens of thousands gathered to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, whose legacy of humility and compassion continues to resonate globally. The basilica had initially been scheduled to close at midnight but remained open through the night until 5:30 a.m. to accommodate the unprecedented outpouring of grief.

The Vatican reported that over 60,000 people had already visited since the basilica opened Wednesday morning. Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Catholics, passed away on Monday at the age of 88 at his Vatican residence, Casa Santa Marta, following a stroke and cardiac failure.

His simple wooden coffin, in accordance with his wishes for modest funeral rites, rests on the main altar of the basilica. Clad in liturgical vestments and holding a rosary, the late pontiff lies in an open casket lined with red cloth, watched over by members of the Swiss Guard. In a marked departure from tradition, the coffin has not been elevated on a platform—an element Pope Francis had deliberately omitted when reforming papal funeral rites last year.

Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the pope’s longtime physician from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, recalled in interviews published Thursday that Francis died swiftly and peacefully. Called to the Vatican in the early hours of Monday, Alfieri found the pontiff unresponsive but with his eyes open. "I knew in that moment there was nothing more to do," he told Corriere della Sera. The pope had appeared to be recovering well from a recent bout of double pneumonia, even greeting crowds in St. Peter’s Square during Easter Sunday just a day before his passing.

In a poignant moment, Dr. Alfieri shared the pontiff’s final regret: his inability to perform the traditional Maundy Thursday foot-washing ritual for prisoners—a symbol of humility he had passionately embraced throughout his papacy. “‘This time I couldn’t do it,’ he told me. That was the last thing he said.”

Pope Francis’s body will lie in state until Friday evening, allowing the faithful to offer their final farewells beneath the basilica’s soaring dome. On Wednesday, mourners gathered under the spring sun in St. Peter’s Square as a solemn procession of cardinals and bishops, accompanied by chanting choirs and the soft tolling of bells, carried the coffin inside. Applause broke out—reverent, steady, and filled with emotion—as the crowd paid tribute to a man widely revered as a beacon of peace and compassion.

“He was a living example of humility and love,” said Francesco Catini, who traveled from Venice and waited four hours to enter. Others echoed his sentiments, including Chiara Frassine of Brescia, who described Francis as “a humble point of reference for many people, not just Catholics.”

Among those in line was German visitor Gunnar Prieß, who had flown in specifically to witness what he described as “the expression of a holy ritual that goes back 2,000 years.” Though not Catholic, he said, “there’s an aura in the Vatican, and I wanted to be a part of it.”

The funeral mass is scheduled for Saturday morning in St. Peter’s Square and is expected to draw an array of global dignitaries, including U.S. President Donald Trump, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Prince William. In another deviation from traditional Vatican protocol, the late pontiff will be buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome’s Esquilino district, rather than within the Vatican grounds.

Looking ahead, the College of Cardinals has approved a nine-day mourning period beginning on the day of the funeral. A papal conclave to elect Francis’s successor is not expected to begin before May 5. While there is no definitive frontrunner, early speculation has centered on Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines and Cardinal Pietro Parolin of Italy.

Among those eligible to vote is 78-year-old Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins, the former Archbishop of Toronto, who walked in Wednesday’s procession. Reflecting on the ceremony, he said: “From the simple prayers to the incense, it was no different than the rites we observe for any baptized person. And that was the essence of Francis—humble in life, and in death.”