Tens of thousands of people stood in line for as far as the eye could see on Monday for a last glimpse of Pope John Paul, whose body will lie in state in St. Peter's Basilica until his funeral on Friday.
Roman Catholic cardinals, meeting for the first time since the Pope's death two days ago, decided on an open air funeral for him in St. Peter's Square and decreed that his body be transferred to the Basilica later on Monday.
The funeral was expected to draw the greatest tide of pilgrims and heads of state to the Vatican in its history, coming to pay their respects to a man who took his message to more nations than any predecessor in two millennia.
The cardinals said the Polish Pope's body would be carried in a procession from the secluded Vatican City, through St. Peter's Square and into the towering basilica.
More than six hours before the public viewing was due to start, a vast crowd of faithful and tourists waited patiently in blazing spring sunshine, in a line stretching one km (more than half a mile) from St Peter's to the River Tiber.
"For me he was another Christ. He truly lived the life of Jesus. He showed us how to live, how to suffer, how to love and even how to die," said Sister Simone from Austria, standing with fellow nuns from Mother Teresa's order.
Asked if she was daunted by the long wait, she said: "He sacrificed his whole life for the Church so a few hours mean nothing."
FUNERAL RITES
The Cardinals ruled that the elaborate funeral rites would start at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Friday. President Bush will be among close to 200 world leaders to attend.
Britain's Prince Charles announced that he was postponing his marriage to long-time lover Camilla Parker Bowles from Friday to Saturday so that he could be at the Vatican.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that after the funeral, the Pope would be buried under the basilica, as is customary for deceased pontiffs, dismissing speculation that John Paul wanted to be interred in his native Poland.
News of the Pope's death has brought the princes of the Church rushing to Rome, and 65 arrived in time for Monday's meeting. In all, 117 cardinals will be eligible to attend a conclave later this month to elect a new Pope.
The Cardinals have made no decision about a starting date, but many of them were clearly already considering which of their number would be best to run the 1.1 billion-member Church.
U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick told reporters the looming vote was an "extraordinary responsibility."
The Pope's corpse, clad in crimson and white vestments, was put on view for dignitaries and Church leaders on Sunday. His face clearly showed signs of the physical suffering that racked him in the final days of his life.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to file past his body when it is transferred to St. Peter's Basilica, with Vatican officials saying the church would stay open day and night to ensure everyone could get in.
Some young pilgrims staked out positions in St. Peter's Square shortly after dawn, eager to pay their respects to the third-longest reigning pontiff, who helped destroy the Iron Curtain and stamped a stern social dogma on his Church.
"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.
GLOBAL PRAISE
Rome authorities are braced for as many as 2 million mourners for the funeral itself and thousands of security forces were mobilized to protect the visiting dignitaries.
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.
"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.
But his uncompromising stance on social issues angered many Catholics, especially in the developed world, who often ignored his unyielding views on sexual morality.
Some liberal Catholic commentators tempered their tributes by criticizing his traditionalist line on women, homosexuals and contraception and what they called his laggardly response to the scandal of child sex abuse by the clergy.
"He alienated people -- women, divorced people, gays -- from the Church and that cannot be forgiven. He destroyed the hopes of a decentralized church," Belgian member of parliament and priest Staf Nimmegeers wrote in De Standaard daily.
The conclave must start within 15 to 20 days of his death, drawing together all cardinals aged under 80.
In his long pontificate, John Paul was able to hand-pick almost all the men who will enter the conclave, stacking the odds that his conservative teachings will not be eroded.
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