VATICAN CITY, April 6: Roman Catholic cardinals called a conclave starting in 12 days’ time to elect a successor to Pope John Paul as more than one million people lined up on Wednesday to see the pontiff’s body, bringing chaos to Rome.
Italy called in the army to help manage the rapidly swelling tumult ahead of Friday’s funeral, which is set to be one of the biggest in history, and prepared to shut off the endless queue of faithful who were waiting up to 14 hours to see the body.
“The number of people is staggering and is growing constantly,” Rome police chief Achille Serra said. He said four million people had descended on Rome and Vatican City since John Paul’s death on Saturday. “This is unprecedented.”
Hidden from the massing pilgrims, cardinals chose Monday, April 18 as start date for their conclave to replace a giant figure of the 20th century who helped topple Communism in Europe but drew criticism from some for his unbending doctrinal views.
The electors will vote in the Sistine Chapel twice a day until they have selected a new pontiff.
The conclave will be open to all cardinals aged under 80 — 117 in all. A two-thirds majority is needed to choose the pope.
Most modern conclaves have lasted only a few days, but if cardinals have failed to elect a pope after about two weeks of balloting, they can opt for a simple majority vote.
POWERFUL AND HUMBLE: Rome faced partial paralysis on Wednesday as even more pilgrims from around the world flooded into the city to pay their respects to a pope who travelled more than any of his predecessors.
Authorities said they would not allow anyone else to join the lines from 10:00 p.m. (2000 GMT) — almost a day ahead of schedule — so that the swelling crowd of faithful could pass through St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of the Friday funeral.
Medics around Vatican City said they had treated hundreds of people, most of whom fainted after waiting as long as 14 hours.
“It’s a long time to wait,” said Craig Simoneaux, 49, from Illinois. “But how long does it really take to say goodbye?”
The elaborate funeral rites will draw the biggest gathering of the powerful and the humble in modern times. Four kings, five queens, at least 70 presidents and prime ministers and more than 14 leaders of other religions will attend.
The chairs already laid out in St. Peter’s Square will seat US President George W. Bush near President Mohammad Khatami of Iran, one of the countries Bush included in his “axis of evil”.
Asked if he was worried about a security threat, Rome police chief Serra said: “We have received no worrying indications.”
POPE FROM THE SOUTH?: There is no favourite candidate to succeed John Paul and the former Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow was himself thought an outsider when he was elevated to the papacy on Oct 16, 1978.
However, cardinals have started sketching in public their preferences. Some believe the next pontiff should come from a developing country in the Southern Hemisphere, where two thirds of the 1.1 billion Catholics live.
“Is it time for a pope from Latin America or Africa,” Jozef Glemp from Poland said. “Yes, it’s possible.”
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters that John Paul’s last will and testament was read to the cardinals on Wednesday and would be released on Thursday.
On the streets of Rome, young and old alike queued patiently in the warm spring sun before entering the basilica, where the Pope’s crimson-robed body lay on a bier, bathed in light.
More than one million pilgrims have filed past the body, lying on a simple bier, since it was moved to the basilica on Monday. Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni said 1.2 million people were queuing in streets around the Vatican on Wednesday to pay homage.—Reuters
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.