On the eve of the first of three days of viewing, Italian security officials had said at least 25,000-30,000 people would come on Monday. But by the end of the first day's viewing, some 65,000 persons had passed by the bier, the Vatican said. Read more:
VATICAN CITY: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 's body, his head resting on a pair of crimson pillows, lay in state in St. Peter's Basilica on Monday as tens of thousands queued to pay tribute to the pontiff who shocked the world by retiring a decade ago. On the eve of the first of three days of viewing, Italian security officials had said at least 25,000-30,000 people would come on Monday.
'This resignation wasn't a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength, a greatness because he saw that he was no longer up to the challenges of being pope,' Kasper said. Kasper, who was among the cardinals who elected Benedict to the papacy in 2005, added that the resignation gave 'a more human vision to the papacy: that the pope is a man and is dependent on his physical and mental strengths.
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