Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The odd white cloud dotted an otherwise clear sky over St Peter's Square. Despite the warm sun, a fresh breeze makes its way among the thousands of bodies crowding Via della Conciliazione, Piazza Papa Pio XII, and the parvis in front of St Peter’s since the wee hours of the morning.
The basilica opened this morning at 11 am until midnight (same thing tomorrow and Friday until 7 pm) with people waiting patiently. The high sun is not suitable for mourning; there is a lot of light.
Welcomed by the embrace of Bernini's colonnade, people, believers or just curious onlookers passing through from every continent, line up, starting today and for the next three days, to bid a last farewell to Francis, lying in state in an open casket after he was moved from Casa Santa Marta.
Imposing security measures are in place until the day of the funeral, Saturday, at 10 am in St Peter's Square, presided by Card Giovanni Battista Re. About 200,000 people and 170 foreign delegations are expected.
It is almost the end of April, but agents with the Italian Civil Protection are handing out bottles of water. The entrances near the colonnade are off-limits, except for journalists and those with special passes.
Police agents and volunteers with bright green Jubilee vests are out in great numbers. Today, as the pilgrimage to the Holy Door is underway, people can view the coffin of the pope who came from the "end of the world", before he is laid to rest in Santa Maria Maggiore.
The overflow of people paying their last respects to Bergoglio – or even just to witness a historic moment underway in the Vatican, includes many from Asia. One of them is Maesh, from Mumbai, India, in Rome with his wife Badura and their two young children. He is taking pictures of the crowded square.
“We have been here for sixteen days on holiday," he told AsiaNews. “We are Hindus but when we heard the news of the pope we immediately thought it was important to be here.” For his wife, “He was an important pope for the whole world.”
Pope Francis was "a good person,” the couple say. "For such an important man it was the least we could do, give five minutes of our time.” Maesh and Badura will not visit the pope’s casket though. "We visited the basilica yesterday, today we are here only to see the crowd," he adds.
AsiaNews also spoke with Hai, a Vietnamese from the capital Hanoi. He waits sitting on the planters that line the corridor that leads pilgrims from the new Piazza Pia to the basilica.
"I'm in Rome for work," he says. “I am a Buddhist and I am here in St Peter's because I wanted to see the situation with my own eyes. And to attend the funeral of the pope." Of the pontiff who passed away on the morning of Easter Monday, Hai remembers above all his commitment to peace in Ukraine. "He fought against poverty," he adds.
Not far away, Yumi and Li, from Shanghai, China, are taking a selfie. “We are travelling and the Vatican is one of the most beautiful places,” they say.
“We did not know the situation of the pope. We only heard about it a few days ago, from the news. We are not religious people,” but “We still wanted to take a look, then go to the Colosseum and later the return plane awaits us.”
Seo-Yeon, a 33-year-old South Korean woman from Seoul on a trip to Italy. She is queueing to view Pope Francis’s casket, and would not miss this "historic moment”. “When the pope died, I wanted to bring my sorrow here," she said. “I believe in the values and strength that he tried to spread in the world. It's a unique opportunity to be here.”
She spoke about the pontiff's trip to South Korea in 2014. “It was a special presence. He will be remembered by Koreans for a long time. I believe that his life was not only dedicated to religion; he tried to save the world by telling us that we are all part of humanity.”
Seo-Yeon used to attend a parish, but now no longer practises. “I believe in values and the power of good in religions," she tells AsiaNews.
Some people were planning to see Pope Francis at the Wednesday general audience today, which was not held for obvious reasons.
“When the pope visited Singapore, I did not have the opportunity to meet him. I really wanted to do it here,” says Ida, who is visiting Rome with a group of Catholics from Indonesia, wearing yellow handkerchiefs around her neck and the Jubilee logo.
"We were supposed to meet him today in St Peter's Square; we already had a reservation. Everything was set," he says. "Now we will see him, pay him our last goodbye, with extreme respect. He is one of the wisest popes who ever lived.”
