Roman Catholic cardinals Monday set Pope John Paul's funeral for Friday as they began to plan the Church's future following the death of the Pontiff who led its faithful for more than a quarter century.
The funeral in St. Peter's Basilica was expected to draw the greatest tide of pilgrims and heads of state to the Vatican in its history, pulled by the charisma of John Paul who took his message to more nations than any other pope in two millennia.
John Paul's body was to be transferred to the towering basilica for public viewing later Monday, first passing through St. Peter's Square, below the room where he died after prolonged illness.
"It scares me to see a dead body but this is our pope and I have to say goodbye," said Roberto Comelli, who had spent all night at St. Peter's Square to be among the first to see the Polish Pope's remains.
The red-hatted cardinals met for the first time since John Paul's death Saturday and began deliberations that will culminate in the choice of a new pope, signaled by white smoke out of the Sistine Chapel's chimney.
The senior churchmen decided that the elaborate funeral rites, which were expected to draw close to 200 world leaders including President Bush, would be held on Friday, April 8 at 10 a.m., the Vatican said.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls confirmed that the Pope will be buried under the basilica, as is customary for deceased pontiffs, dismissing speculation that John Paul had expressed a wish to be interred in his native Poland.
The first of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who are expected to file by John Paul's corpse will be able to pay their respects starting Monday evening.
SIGNS OF SUFFERING
Some young pilgrims had already staked out positions in cobblestoned square to pay their respects to the third-longest reigning pontiff, who helped bring down the Iron Curtain but alienated some with his stern social dogma.
"If it hadn't been for this pope, I would have completely lost my faith. I always trusted him, and needed to come here today to see him," said 22-year-old Silvia Mazzacani, who took an overnight train from Modena in northern Italy.
The Pope's corpse, clad in crimson and white vestments, was put on view for dignitaries and Church leaders Sunday. His face clearly showed signs of the physical suffering that racked him in the final days of his life.
News of his death brought the princes of the Church rushing to Rome, and 65 arrived in time for Monday's meeting. In all, 117 cardinals are eligible to attend the conclave later this month that will elect a new man to run the 1.1 billion-member Church. No date has yet been set for the conclave.
U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick called the looming vote an "extraordinary responsibility."
'EXTRAORDINARY TEST'
Rome authorities are braced for as many as 2 million mourners, including more than 100 heads of state, in the largest such event the city has seen. Already tens of thousands have passed through St. Peter's Square since the Pope's death.
"For us it is an extraordinary test, of the most tremendous importance," said Mayor Walter Veltroni. Police began erecting barricades around St. Peter's Basilica.
Italy mobilized thousands of security forces to protect visiting dignitaries, who were expected to include President Bush.
The death of the Pope at the age of 84 unleashed an outpouring of grief far beyond the confines of the Vatican.
Tens of thousands took to the streets of his native Poland for open-air masses, and flags flew at half mast even in communist Cuba and above the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.
Arab militant groups Hamas and Hizbollah praised the Pope for his efforts to bring peace to that region.
"This pope will go down as John Paul the Great," said the Archbishop of Accra, Charles Palmer-Buckle, one of the bishops promoted on March 30 in John Paul's last round of appointments.
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