Some 65,000 faithful flocked to late pope emeritus Benedict XVI's lying in state between nine in the morning and seven in the evening Monday, the Vatican said.
The total is set to rise significantly by the end of the three days of the mourning ceremony, as tens of thousands more pay their respects, they said.
The body of the German late former pope, who died on New Year's Eve aged 95, will lie in state for three days, until Wednesday evening, ahead of his funeral in St Peter's Thursday.
The Vatican said it was hard to estimate how many mourners will have paid their respects by then.
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