'The greatest Pole in history'
2005-04-08 09:47
Vatican City - A seething mass of pilgrims pushed their way into Saint Peter's Square on Friday, desperate to secure a front seat position for the funeral on Friday of Pope John Paul II.
As final preparations for the requiem mass got under way, the silhouettes of state leaders could be seen gathering on the right side of the esplanade of St Peter's Basilica, while on the left sat cardinals in purple mourning robes.
Police opened the square to the crowds at 07:00, leading to a dangerous crush at the entrance before the crowd was shepherding toward metal detectors.
A young girl was carried away unconscious on a stretcher by six first-aid medics.
At one point the pushing crowd on one side threatened to overwhelm police manning the barriers. "Open! Open!" they roared as they tried to push through. Dozens of police and soldiers were called in reinforcement until the situation eased.
'Why do you go to your father's funeral'
"Everyone was pushing very hard," said Monika Flis, from Poland, already on the square waiting to go through the police control and metal detectors.
But she had no doubt it was worth it. "I'm happy to be here, I didn't see him when he came to Poland so I must be here."
The red and white colours of John Paul II's native Poland filled the main artery leading to the basilica and high prelates were whisked past the crowds through the emergency corridors.
Nearby stood five nuns from the Philippines and India, their black and white robes barely visible in the multitude.
"We are here to express our love," said Sister Thelma of the Philippines.
Still waiting to get into the square, Macek Karowicz, a Polish pilgrim from Lublin, stood quietly in the crowd.
Asked why he had travelled to Rome, he said: "Why do you go to your father's funeral? You don't know why, you have to."
Sara Nigon, a 21-year-old student from a Catholic university in Minnesota, sat on the pavement by a group of American students and priests who, for their part, were still sleeping on the cobblestones.
Hundreds of policemen were deployed just on the square and the main artery leading to the basilica where the body of John Paul II has been lying in state since Monday, viewed by an endless sea of humanity for three days and nights.
Several thousand officers patrolled the neighbourhood where pilgrims slept, sat or stood in silent prayer.
"We just wanted to say goodbye to the greatest Pole in history," said Aneta Wisneiwska, who had flown from the pope's native Poland for the funeral.
"It will be completely different being in Rome than watching it on TV," she said, after folding her blanket near the blocked-off bridge that leads to the main artery toward St Peter's Square.
The funeral, due to start at 10:00, is drawing the leaders of more than 100 countries and representatives of the world's major religions, as well as an estimated congregation in the streets of Rome of two million or more.