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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World
RFI

World leaders and mourners gather in Rome to honour Pope Francis

A pedstrian takes a picture with a smartphone as visitors queue to access St Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis who lies in state in The Vatican, on 25 April 2025. AFP - DAMIEN MEYER

Tens of thousands of people visited the Vatican on Friday for a last glimpse of Pope Francis's open coffin, before his funeral on Saturday. Italian authorities have stepped up security to protect the more than 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs expected to attend, alongside around 200,000 mourners.

Francis, the first Latin American pope, died on Easter Monday aged 88, less than a month after a long hospital stay with severe pneumonia.

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