VATICAN CITY, Holy See (AFP) — Tens of thousands of people flocked to the Vatican Friday for a last glimpse of Pope Francis’s open coffin, as world leaders and other guests began arriving for his funeral.

Around 150,000 people had paid their last respects to the Argentine pontiff by midday Friday, seven hours before the end of three days of lying in state at St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican said.

The wooden coffin, in which the pope lies wearing a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes, with a rosary laced around his fingers, will be closed in a private ceremony at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT).

More than 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs are expected to attend Saturday’s funeral, alongside around 200,000 mourners.

“We love the pope, we feel blessed to see him a last (time),” Michelle Alcaide, 35, from the Philippines, as she queued to file past the pope’s coffin Friday.

Vast crowds of people packed Via della Conciliazione, the wide avenue leading to the Vatican, pilgrims and tourists mingling with Italians enjoying the April 25 public holiday.

“What a great man! He loved everyone, every religion,” said 53-year-old Italian Igho Felici, adding: “I had to be here.”

Italian and Vatican authorities have placed the area around St Peter’s under tight security with drones blocked, snipers on roofs and fighter jets on standby.

Further checkpoints will be activated on Friday night, police said.

– ‘Intimate moment’ –
For a second night in a row, the Vatican kept St Peter’s open past the scheduled hours to accommodate the queues, only closing the doors between 2:30 am and 5:40 am Friday.

“Night is the most intimate moment, the Lord always manifests himself at night,” said Nicoletta Tomassetti, 60, who visited the Basilica in the very early hours of Friday morning.

“It was very emotional. In prayer, I asked the pope for some things and I know he will give them to me,” she told AFP.

The Catholic Church’s first Latin American pope died on Monday aged 88, less than a month after spending weeks in hospital fighting severe pneumonia.

“It was like saying goodbye to a father” who “loved me and will continue to love me as and more than before,” said Filipa Castronovo, 76, an Italian nun, after seeing the coffin on Friday.

Visitors to St Peter’s reported waiting hours to enter. “Whatever happens, we have to get inside,” said Ian Delmonte, 35, also from the Philippines.

– Global tributes –
The Argentine pontiff, who had long suffered failing health, defied doctors’ orders by making a public appearance on Easter Sunday, the most important moment in the Catholic calendar.

It was his last public appearance.

Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed those on the fringes of society in his 12 years as head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

He used his last speech to rail against those who stir up “contempt… towards the vulnerable, the marginalised, and migrants”.

“It’s impressive to see all these people,” French cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo said of the queueing crowds, describing Francis as “a man of the people.

“It’s a beautiful response, a beautiful embrace of his ministry, of his pontificate,” he added.

The Vatican has said 130 foreign delegations are confirmed for the funeral, including Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Britain’s Prince William, many of whom began arriving early on Friday morning.

US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania are expected to arrive on Friday evening.

– Selfie ban –
On Thursday the Vatican banned people from taking photos inside the basilica, a move that eased the queue. It came after some mourners took selfies with the coffin.

After the funeral, Francis’s coffin will be driven at a walking pace for burial at his favourite church, Rome’s papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

The hearse will pass down Rome’s Fori Imperiali — where the city’s ancient temples lie — and past the Colosseum, according to officials.

Big screens will be set up along the route on which to watch the ceremony, according to Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who estimated the crowds at around 200,000.

Francis was a champion of the underdog, and a group of “poor and needy” will be at Santa Maria Maggiore to welcome the coffin, the Vatican said.

Francis will be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus.

People will be able to visit the tomb from Sunday morning, as all eyes turn to the process of choosing Francis’s successor.

– Early May conclave possible –
Cardinals from around the world have been returning to Rome for the funeral and the election of a new pope.

They have been meeting every day to agree the next steps, but have yet to announce a date for the conclave.

Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Hollerich, a Jesuit who was a close adviser to Francis, said the conclave would likely begin on May 5 or 6.

This is right after the nine days of mourning declared by the Holy See, which ends on May 4.

Only those under the age of 80 — currently some 135 cardinals — are eligible to vote.

Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was number two to Francis, is the favourite, according to British bookmakers William Hill.

They put him ahead of Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, the Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Manila, followed by Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Turkson, and Matteo Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna.