People from Tipperary have joined thousands from far and wide to pay their respects to the Pope – as he lies in state at the Vatican for the second day.
Francis is in St Peter’s Basilica – where he arrived yesterday morning – ahead of his funeral on Saturday.
Crowds have been queueing for hours to see his body and the Vatican has now extended the hours of his lying in state.
Fr Michael Toomey of the Ardfinnan and Newcastle Parish says people gathered late into the night to pay their respects.
“Yesterday an estimated 30,000 people filed past the coffin of the late Pope Francis. Many were in a queue for up to five hours to spend a couple of seconds paying their respects.
“Despite the huge crowds there is still an air of solemnity and peacefulness both inside and outside the Vatican.
“Yesterday evening I spoke to a family from Clonmel who queued for three hours and when they left at 10.30 last night they just saw the crowd getting bigger.”
