Vatican says may extend time for visiting Pope's body due to high number of pilgrims

Faithful use smartphones as Pope Francis lies in state in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Greco

The Vatican may extend the timeframe for pilgrims to visit Pope Francis' body in St. Peter's Basilica until beyond midnight in Rome (22:00 GMT) due to the large number of visitors, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Francis, who died at age 88 on Monday, is lying in state for three days. The Vatican had originally planned to close visits at midnight on Wednesday and Thursday and at 7pm (1700 GMT) on Friday.