Thousands more queue to see Pope Francis on second day of lying in state

Tens of thousands of people have lined up in Vatican City to catch a final glimpse of Pope Francis as he lay in state for a second day and Italian authorities stepped up security arrangements before his weekend funeral.

Francis died aged 88 on Monday morning in his rooms at the Vatican’s Santa Marta guesthouse, having only recently left hospital after five weeks of being treated for double pneumonia.About 61,000 people had filed past the late Catholic leader’s red-lined wooden coffin in the first 26 hours since Francis began lying in state at St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, the Vatican said.

Such was the demand to see him that authorities extended visiting hours on Wednesday from midnight (22:00 GMT) until 5:30am (03:30 GMT) on Thursday.

After a break of just one and a half hours, the doors opened again with authorities saying the window might again be extended on Thursday night if necessary.