st. peter's square. delia, explain to us what the atmosphere is like as the faithful gather on this day. >> reporter: well, bianca, i've been here for a few hours. now, they started coming in the early hours of the morning to fill the square. there's about a 60,000 person capacity seated there in st. peter's square. it looks like it's getting filled up. at the moment, as you mentioned, the casket has just come out from st. peter's basilica. they are doing a rosary. they are saying prayers just before the mass begins. that coffin was sealed last night. inside they put coins and medals from pope benedict's pontificate as well as a scroll. and the vatican has given us the text of that scroll. the scroll contains the biography of his life and some salient points from his pontificate. so for example, it mentions that his father was a police officer, his mother was a cook. before they got married. it also mentioned the sex abuse crisis. it says that pope fran -- pope benedict, excuse me, firmly fought against

st. peter's square. i'm wondering if you can give u an idea of what has been going on for the past couple of days. what has the activity been and who is coming to pay their respects and what is that like right now as we wait for the procession to begin. >> this community has been really tight. it's grown over the last three days. when we first got here, no checkpoints and as time went on the checkpoints increased and the crowds increased. there is a sense of urgency yesterday because there was a lot for people to pay tribute to . this morning it is a lot of security and there are a thousand journalists here and there are people trying to make their way into the seats that are they are. actually people began finding their seats couple of hours ago you can see people in the dark coming into st. peter's square and trying to find their seed. you can tell also in the liturgical year, we are still i the christmas season you can se the tree and of the caress prints out this is still christmas, even though we ar

this is a live shot of the vatican — you can see st peter's square and st peter's basilica — where popetly make his address. in ukraine last night, as people marked the new year, there were further russian missile attacks, including in the capital, kyiv. 0ur correspondent hugo bachega sent this update from there. the air raid alert sounded after midnight here in kyiv and people were told to seek shelter as russia launched another air strike on this capital. the armed forces this morning are saying that the air defence systems shot down 32 of those drones, iranian—made drones that russia has been using to attack this country. there were no casualties. but this latest attack happened hours after russia launched missiles targeting cities across the country. one person was killed here in the capital. now, the ukrainian officials had accused russia of deliberately targeting civilians by launching attacks on new year's eve, a day when people were gathered to celebrate. now, here in the country, people are tired, angry with these attacks. they say that civilians have become russia's target in

that is the pope's address of the worships below him in st peter's sqaure.nificant address this new year's eve as. bethany, this is a poignant address. pope francis began this prayer praying for mary's intercession for benedict who died yesterday, and also he said letters thank god for the gift of this servant of the church on the gospel. the prayer was marked by this moment of remembering former pope benedict. also there has been the celebration of us this morning, and in that as well there were prayers for benedict. again, the vatican is preparing for the body of pope benedict to be brought to st peter's basilica to lie in state so the public can pay their respects, and that of course the funeral will take place on thursday, and it will be presided over by pope francis himself, something that is new territory for the church, in the words of pope benedict's biographer, the first time a sitting pope will decide over the funeral of his predecessor. we decide over the funeral of his predecessor.— decide over the funeral of his redecessor. ~ ., . , predecessor.

what was the ambience like in st peter's sqaure, unto what was said today?inary scenes this morning as thousands of people poured into the square from every side, the police told us they estimate around 40,000 people were here to see what is a regular lunchtime sunday homily by the pope at the balcony of the vatican just over my left shoulder, but this time was special. he started with the special prayers for pope benedict, and earlier in the day he addressed and earlier in the day he addressed a mass for peace, st peter's basilica behind me, where he talked about entrusting the beloved pope benedict to the holy mother to accompany him from this world to god. for most people i talk to, a lot of them happen to be here over new year's when they heard the news. there was still a sense of shock, there was talk as a welcome recognition of a complicated legacy that pope benedict hard, but that was just for the homily, that pope benedict hard, but that wasjust for the homily, we that pope benedict hard, but that was just for the homily, we are expecting many, many

addressing crowds in st peter's square in rome, pope francis has paid tribute to his predecessor pope benedict, who died yesterday. translation: all join together with one heart and one soul - in thanking god for the gift of this faithful servant of the gospel and of the church. as russian missiles strike kyiv — a former international criminal tribunal prosecutor calls for vladimir putin to be tried in ukraine for war crimes. and croatia begins the new year with a new currency — switching from the kuna to the euro. welcome to the programme. cities around the world have been welcoming in 2023 — with the latest new year celebrations taking place across the united states, canada, the caribbean and latin america. this is rio dejaneiro in brazil. crowds gathered on its copacabana beach — watching the spectacular fireworks display there. this year is in contrast to the previous two years, when celebrations were scaled back because of the pandemic. the bbc�*s louisa pilbeam looks back on how the world has been seeing in the new year. crowd: 5, 4, 3, 2,1. big ben bongs. times have changed and

so on monday, in st. peter's basilica right behind me o. former pope benedict body will be lying and state farm mourners to come and pay their last respects and as you can see around me in the past, just in the past couple of hours, we've seen security preparations for that event. these railings, i have been put up just in the past half hour, hour or so, and the idea is to accommodate the masses. we're going to be lining up here to go through security towards the end, a couple of meters in that direction to go pay their respect and then exit on the other direction. these are also there in case emergency services need to reach a st. peter's square a fast, it is expected that starting tomorrow at these, these streets will be lined and crowded with people and it, it has the fact that benedict, the 16th removed himself from the limelight in the years after his papacy affected . his perception amongst catholics will certainly frankly, catholics, the job of the pope is a job for life. and so when a po benedict former po benedict stepped down almost a decade ago, it did cause a lot of shock

singing they gathered at a mass for peace, at st peter's basilica.atholic new year was, of course, overshadowed by the passing of benedict xvi. his successor talked of now entrusting the pope emeritus to the holy mother for his journey to god. later, it was many thousands that poured into st peter's square to see pope francis appear at a balcony and hear a prayer for his predecessor. translation: let us all 'oin together with one heart h and one soul, in thanking god for this faithful servant, of the gospel and the church. the legacy of pope benedict for some is complicated by the way he's viewed to have handled abuse scandals, particularly when he was archbishop of munich. how do you look back at that now? 0n the one hand, we can say that also pope benedict, just as archbishop of munich, he was not so strong in this, but on the other hand, we must say also as pope, during all his pastoral visits, one meeting was dedicated to persons who suffered by the church, also by sexual abuses. even those who worked with and knew the late pope well acknowledge

the 16th was brought into st peter's basilica in a brief, solemn ceremony. cardinal arch priest of saint peter's blessed the body with holy water and incense. benedict hands, a rosary and the ring on his finger with an image of st benedict, his papal namesake, the patron saint of europe. the former peign hehuh'fold, but it atay then the5,000 ofheth vatican had expected. and they came in sadness but also in gratitude and real affection. i think that as people have seen him grow old, they've see you more gentle side of him more of a grand fatherly role that he's played in the church. they stood in line quietly in the mild january weather. from all over the world, including ukraine. biggest wish that i would like my family now is, um the word to stop. tens of thousands more are expected to pay their respects to a quiet man of fervent conservative faith who became pope and then with one radical act changed the papacy forever by leaving it on thursday, the funeral mass will be held presided over by pope francis and then benedict will be laid to rest beneath st pet

ran down on the capital q and world leader stay there for wells to poke benedict, the 16th, and st. peter's the silica marking, the death of the former ah, hello monica jones, happy new year from here in berlin, and welcome to the program. a wave of new year's celebrations has swept across the globe with brazil and new york among the latest to ring in the new year. the count downs will soon be taking down on the west coast cities of the united states. the party was in full swing, crossed europe and africa, and saturday night as the city's returns to full scale celebrations. following 2 years of restricted events, ah, from sydney's iconic harbor bridge to times square in new york to rio de janeiro, copa cabana beach. the world's 8000000000 inhabitants. welcome to 2023. with a bang while there was no official fireworks display in the german capital berlin, it didn't stop the city's residence from turning the night sky into a festive spectacle. mindy egyptian capital cairo people were treated to a fireworks display on the nile revelers and paris gathered on michelle's alizae. many had hopes fo

this mass taking place in st peter's basilica.eral pope benedict will take place on thursday. he died at the age of 95 yesterday. that was on sunday and he is lying in state at the moment in st peter's basilica. the pope will make an address and you can see those pictures coming live from the vatican city. the archbishop of canterbury and the head of the roman catholic church have been paying tribute and he has been described as one of the most eminent theologians of his age. the funeral is set to take place on thursday. the pope early in the week had signalled that something was sadly going to take place when he said he was very ill. many leaders have paid tribute to events taking place in ukraine. there were further russian missile attacks, including in the capital, the air raid sirens sounded just after midnight and the army said they shot down 32 missiles, drones fired by russia. this happened hours after russia launched 20 missiles, and one person was killed here in kyiv after a missile was intercepted by the air defence syst

st. peter's square.finitely right along the lines of the wave that pope benedict xvi would have wanted to be remembered. the way pope benedict xvi conducted his own ceremony. most people who witnessed pope benedict, i had the pleasure and the honor really of coming very close to pope benedict in the early stages of his pontificate. i was on st. peter's square when he became the pope, when he first came out on the balcony beforehand having said that he didn't want to become pope. you did see that he would do his utmost to make sure that the gravity and honor is something he also reflected and that he honored himself. he certainly in the first years of his papacy did have a lot of energy at that point in time when he went to germany for the first time, for the world youth day. he later went back to bavaria. those were the highlight years of his pontificate. the early stages. then things became more difficult as time went on. this definitely was a ceremony that speaks to the legacy of pope benedict xvi insi

st. peter's square. barbie, what's happening right now. >> reporter: right now, you know, there is a lot of activity going on here in st. peter's square right now. the pope is finishing up his mass, the first mass of the year in which he called benedict a messenger of peace. there are a lot of people filling in the st. peter's actual square right now waiting for his blessing at noon. this is something he does every single sunday at noon but this is especially important because it's new year's day and because of the death of pope benedict. we expect him to speak about the state of the world in this address. at the same time they are making preparations for the funeral -- for the funeral to be held on thursday so there is a bevy of activity here all around the square this morning, leyla. >> we do expect, i understand, that pope francis will mention pope emeritus benedict in in first appearance before the general public since the death of the former pope. >> reporter: that's right. he did mention him in the

st. peter's basilica as pope john paul ii.ester >> molly, thank you. >>> turning now to the war in ukraine, russia tonight acknowledging a ukrainian strike killed dozens of its troops while ukraine puts the number in the hundreds matt bradley is in kyiv with more on how russia is retaliating. >> reporter: tonight ukraine's single deadliest attack against russia in months using american-supplied himars rockets to level this vocational college that russia had been using as a barracks for newly recruited troops in the east russia's ministry of defense saying 63 russian soldiers died. earlier today ukraine's military said as many as 400 newly recruited russian soldiers were killed still, russia is firing back, far from the front lines. kyiv's mayor said air defenses shot down 39 russian drones that swarmed the capital overnight. "at night i heard a very strong bump," said this man. "the furniture even moved. the attacks mostly targeted the power grid, leaving many ukrainians without heat and electricity in the bitter cold russia h

st. peter's square. n apostle of jesus who catholics consider to be the very first. >> let's bring in father james martin from new york. he's the editor at large at american media, author of a jesuit guide. thank you for joining us. be our guide to what we're seeing now then with holy communion underway there in vatican city. >> i'm sorry, i didn't hear your question. >> so just describe -- this is the holy communion moment of the service. take us through the importance of that within this unprecedented event. >> sure. so there's essentially two parts of the mass. there is what's called the liturgy of the word which are the readings, the gospel. we had the homily from pope francis then comes the liturgy of the eucharist. it's the consecration of the body and blood of christ. that is distributed. that's what you're seeing now. >> father james, we've discussed so far the poignancy of this funeral today. of course, any funeral is a solemn occasion, but to see a current pope presiding over the funeral of a po

while the cops of fir, the former pope will be displayed in st. peter's basilica under the huge capua. a people will have the opportunity to stop shortly at his corpse, maybe to pray and to pay their respects. the pope will not be in a coffin, his displayed actually are a little pedestrian lying there in a well humble white dress, his own hands folded, holding a rosary, and he's not. he's not done with the famous red shoes, he used to wear as po, but only very modest normal shoes that was highlighted both the vatican spokesperson and so people can just go there and see the pope for a long time. and maybe they have to stay in to send a long lines. that is not yet clear how many people will come up. and then in 3 days time, he will be buried in the grotto. in st. peter's basilica now are benedict, has been out of the public eye a very, pretty much since he retired in 2013. are many people expected to turn up are those for the, the public viewing open at 9 o'clock and then they are open until 1900. every day now and on thursday, it's a funeral. and the vatican was not quite clear how man

st peter's basilica has — come in the coming days.in the coming days. st peter's basilica has been open, _ come in the coming days. st peter's basilica has been open, benedict's i basilica has been open, benedict's bodyis basilica has been open, benedict's body is lying in state, and as of this morning, the basilica is open for the faithful to come and pay theirfinal for the faithful to come and pay their final respects. we are already seeing hundreds of people flocking to that line to come and say the final goodbyes to the emeritus pope. over the next few days we can expect to see similar images coming out of the vatican and saint peter's basilica. pope benedict will be lying in state until thursday morning, when pope francis will preside over his funeral. so, while we are having some of the scenes, and we are seeing people already flocking to be there to see the emeritus pope, we are not seeing some of the typical ceremonial aspects of what a reigning pope passes. there was no ceremonial ringing of the bells or official proclamation

addressing crowds at st peter's square, pope francis has described his predecessor, benedict xvi, asied yesterday at age of 95. and croatia begins the new year with a new currency, switching from the kuna to the euro.

st. peter's square. were among the first allowed in through the doors to pay respects in just the first five hours. vatican police say 40,000 people filed past pope benedict xvi. they came from all over the catholic world. >> it is a once-in-a-lifetime moment. you feemore emotional as you get closer to viewing the pope's body and realize the impact he has had on everybody. it is a somber mood. reporter: what was that moment like for you, paying respects? >> i felt so honored because pope benedict was a servant of god. we honor him, follow his example. reporter: there was discussion in recent days about some of the failures of pope benedict xvi, especially when it came to adequately dealing with perpetrators of abuse. but for those here today, it was about paying tribute to a man they saw as a great theologian who devoted h life to the church. aleem maqbool, bbc news, the vatican. david: h -- we have come to the end of a year with great economic turbulence, soaring inflation. the imf has warned the year a

expecting 50 to 60,000 people to attend here on st peter's square. they've started setting up these barricades in anticipation of the lines of people coming to see the pope lying in state and then back here, they started setting up these risers ahead of the funeral, but the crowd is likely to be just a fraction of the more than 300,000 that attended john paul, the second in 2005. benedict's legacy that of a brilliant theologian. and the first pope in nearly 600, ly sea precedent. the fact that benedict did it, you know, and francis'sornd hists opensp the h successors and t vatican tme onl delegation, so this will likely be more subdued. but this will still be the first time in modern history, but a sitting pope presides over his predecessors. funeral terra abc news vatican city in us. thank you. and extradition hearing is set for tomorrow for the suspect in the murders of four university of idaho students, investigators say the 28 year old grad student at washington state university, stabbed all four in an off campus home in november. they're still t

they gathered at a mass for peace, at st peter's basilica.the passing of benedict xvi. hiss successor talked of entrusting the pope to the holy mother for his journey to god. later, it was many thousands that poured into st peter's square to see pope francis appear at a balcony and hear a prayerfor his predecessor. translation: let hear a prayer for his predecessor. translation:— translation: let us all 'oin toaether translation: let us all 'oin together with i translation: let us all 'oin together with one i translation: let us all 'oin together with one hard h translation: let us alljoin together with one hard and l translation: let us all join l together with one hard and one translation: let us all join - together with one hard and one soul. in thanking good for this faithful servant, of the gospel and the church. . . , servant, of the gospel and the church. ., _ ., servant, of the gospel and the church. ., 3 ., .,, �* church. the legacy of pope ben dig it for some — church. the legacy of pope ben dig it for some is _ church. the legacy o

the former pope will be lying in state in st peter's basilica from monday to allow mourners to pay their respects until his funeral on thursday. pope francis celebrated mass for the solemnity of mary in the vatican, and afterwards he paid tribute to his predessecor in st peter's square. translation: the beginning . of the new year is for mary most holy, who we celebrate today as mother of god. at this time, let's invoke her intercession, especially for pope benedict xvi, who left this world yesterday morning. let us alljoin together with one heart and one soul in thanking god for the gift of this faithful servant of the gospel and of the church. we saw recently, on the television, his images and all of the activities and life of pope benedict. our religion editor aleem maqbool has more from the vatican. we heard from pope francis a couple of times today, first at a mass for peace that was held in st peter's basilica behind me. he talked about entrusting our beloved pope emeritus benedict xvi, to the holy mother, to accompany him from this world to god. and then later, pope francis appear

st. peter's basilica.estimated 65,000 people filed through today to say their final good-byes. [ speaking non-english ] over the weekend pope francis paid tribute to his predecessor, calling him "so noble, so kind." the two men held wildly different worldviews and visions of the church. born joseph ratzinger in 1927, he was the first german pope in more than 1,000 years. a theologian, a strict conservative who put hot-button political issues at the center of his papacy, opposing same-sex marriage and women priests. critics accused him of not doing enough in the church's sex abuse scandal. but today those waiting in line remembered him personally. >> he remains a fundamental person for my life. and it's important for me to be here in rome. it is like when a father dies his sons go to him. >> reporter: felipo toso took an overnight trip from venice to rome this morning to be one of the first. >> how was it? >> amazing. it was not important to see but to be. and to be here. >> reporter: mark patorek, an ameri

st. peter's basilica at the vatican.ers will be able to file past the casket before the funeral on thursday. here is our religion editor. >> at dawn, the late pope was moved from the vatican where he died, to the short, silent procession to st. peter's basilica. there he was placed in front of the altar. outside, while the ceremony was taking place, thousands had formed a queue that snaked around st. peter's square. these were among the first to be allowed in the doors to pay their respects. in just the first five hours, vatican police say 40,000 people filed past pope benedict xvi, and they came from all ovethe catholic world. >> is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments where you feel more emotional as you get closer to viewing the pope's bo, realize the impact he h on everybody. it was kind of a somber mood. >> what was the moment like for you as you are paying your respects? >> that moment i feel so honored. pope benedict was a servant of god. we honor him. we follow the example. >> there has been much scussion abou

st. peter's square.pe has been criticized over his handling of the church abuse scandals, but how are people characterizing benedict's legacy now? >> reporter: yeah. first of all, he certainly has, abby, and i think that's certainly something that in certain ways might taint his legacy, but i think for many people that some of the things that happened with abuse in the catholic church are a bigger problem than pope benedict and certainly span a lot longer than pope benedict was actually the pope. it's certainly something that he took note of and apologized for as well. one of the things he did in the last months of his life is he acknowledged there were mistakes made not just when he was pope but also, for instance, when he was the archbishop in munich as well, so it's definitely something that will influence the way people view pope benedict. there's two different ways to look at this. on the one hand you have the catholic church as a whole around the world and benedict might have been seen as an interi

st. peter's square. >>> thanks for being with us.he family of bryan kohberger, the suspect in the stabbing deaths of four idaho college students, is speaking out and offering their condolences. kohberger himself is sitting in a pennsylvania jail awaiting extradition and facing four counts of first-degree murder. cnn's veronica miracle has the family's statement and the mood in moscow, idaho. >> reporter: bryan kohberger's family has put out a statement through his public defender saying, "first and foremost we care deeply for the four families who have lost their precious children. there are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them. we will continue to let the legal process unfold, and as a family, we will love and support our son and brother. we have fully cooperated with law enforcement agencies in an attempt to seek the truth and promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions. we respect privacy in this matter, as our family and the

it's the addition big book. benedict body will be displayed in st. peter's by silly kind. john for 3 days, followed by his funeral on thursday. i spoke earlier with dw i r e e pro him in rome, and i asked her how people in the vatican have been paying their respects. so yesterday, right after the announcement was made, we saw a crowd slowly, but surely gro around here around the area of saint peter's square to pay their respects and starting tomorrow. pope, former po bennett, the 16th body will be lying and stayed at saint peter's basilica right behind me. and so we are expecting that mourners will be pouring in to give their condolences and pay their last respects last night during the last mass. here in, in, in the vatican. the current sitting pope paid his respect to his predecessor, saying that the church was lucky to have him. and while there is a sense of sadness, monica, there's also a sense of acceptance and that this news was really expected. people have really been brief for it already. on wednesday, the sitting pope had asked the faithful to pray for his predece

in st . peter's basilica in rome, benedict's health had been in decline for several years and he'd been largely absent from public view. political and religious leaders are expressing their condolences and sharing their memories of benedict bell stone. announcing that that a formidable benedict and many are being de respects back that though he was a token or go down in history for an enormously significant fact which was his resignation that had not happened for 600 years. and it was a gesture of great freedom, great audacity, and great courage. i believe this will make him go down in history. and i, you really just cletus praise him for being the 1st to meet the victims of fiction abuse within the catholic church. or he was elected hope he was in charge of the doctrinal section b c, which had responsibility for issues to do with clerk with sexual abuse from she on christ. so he personally was responsible for the layer size issue over $400.00 priests around the world that sexual abuse scandal. what's a divisive issue? benedict post, repeatedly. curtis fight for not doing enough. i don'

it's the addition big book bennett, explain to you will be displayed in st. peter's a silly kind. june for 3 teeth ah, followed by his funeral on kirsty d. w. special correspondent, i abraham has been following reactions in the vatican tre in in rome force, and we asked her what we can expect in the next few days. it was a bit of confusing confusion. as soon as the announcement was made, the announcement of former po benedict's death. because this is really an, an kind of almost unprecedented situation. feel that you have 2 hopes living at the same time. of course the protocol for what happens when a sitting pub dyson quite established and well known, but for a former po, pool after retirement, chose to say in the vatican, there were a lot of question marks in speculation, but we do know now that on monday pope benedict's body will be lying in state for mourners to come and pay their last respects. the funeral will happen on thursday and we know from the vatican that his wish it was that this would be it . this printer would be a humble, simple funeral. and he described himself as

after his death at the weekend, his body is now lying—in—state, in st peter's basilica at the vaticanligion editor, aleem maqbool, is at the vatican. at dawn, the late pope was moved from the monastery in the vatican where he died, for the short, solemn private procession to st peter's basilica. # santa maria...# there, he was taken through the nave to be placed in front of the altar. outside, while the ceremony was taking place, thousands had formed a queue that snaked around st peter's square. these were among the first allowed in through the doors to pay their respects. in just the first five hours, vatican police say 40,000 people filed past benedict xvi, and they came from all over the catholic world. it's just one of those once—in—a—lifetime moments where you kind of feel more and more emotional as you get closer to viewing, you know, the pope's body and realise the impact that he's had, i guess, on everybody. so there was a kind of a sombre mood as the walk progressed. what was that moment like for you when you were paying respects? that moment, i feel so honoured because pope

following his death at the weekend, his body is now lying in state in st peter's basilica at the vatican able to file past the casket until the funeral on thursday. our religion editor aleem maqbool reports. at dawn, the late pope was moved from the monastery in the vatican where he died, for the short, solemn private procession to st peter's basilica. # santa maria...#. there, he was taken through the nave to be placed in front of the altar. outside, while the ceremony was taking place, thousands had formed a queue that snaked around st peter's square. in through the doors to pay their respects. in just the first five hours, vatican police say 40,000 people filed past benedict xvi, and they came from all over the catholic world. it's just one of those once in a lifetime moments where you kind of feel more and more emotional as you get closer to viewing, you know, the pope's body and realise the impact that he's had, i guess, on everybody. so there was a kind of a sombre mood as the walk progressed. what was that moment like for you when you were paying respects? that moment, ifeel so ho

basilica with the late pope is lying in state the doors of st. peter's open since 9 o'clock, or for the mourners, and there's a constant procession, a constant stream of people passing a by this podesta of where the body of the farmer pope is displayed. he said draped into a white and red or an address and wearing a bishop's mitra, very modest and his holding a rosary in his hand. and people are stopping there to pray, to have a moment of silence, and to say good bye and may be also too. okay, to say a thank you to him. and you have to line up for at least 2 or 3 hours now that thousands of people outside of the basilica. and under the collin outside at st. peter's square, you have to go to choose security checks and, and also amongst the 1st visitors or was the italian prime minister, georgia maloney herself a devout catholic, as she says and also your kinsmen, the long term private secretary and lifelong partner of pope benedicts. he was also there and now a constant stream is coming and we ought to expect many mourners and many pilgrims actually from bavaria from his home town is

pope francis has addressed the thousands of people who gathered at st peter's square in the vatican,ay after the death of benedict xvi. the pope described his predecessor as a faithful servant of the gospel and the church. our religion editor aleem maqbool is at the vatican. we heard from pope francis a couple of times today, first at a mass for peace that was held in st peter's basilica behind me. he talked about entrusting our beloved pope emeritus benedict xvi to the holy mother, to accompany him from this world to god. and then later, pope francis appeared at a balcony here at the vatican for what is his regular sunday lunchtime homily, where he started this week by asking people to join together, as you rightly say, to pray for the man he called a faithful servant to the gospel and to the church. extraordinary scenes, though. we saw thousands of people pour into the square from every side. vatican police told us a short while ago that they thought around 40,000 people were here to witness that homily. of course a lot of people happen to be in rome for new year, from around the w

st. peter's basilica where it will lie in state starting from today until wednesday to give the faithful an opportunity to bid their farewell now the gates of st. peters basilica literally opened about five minutes ago it's 9:00 in the morning here in rome we have seen a line of pill pil grimes waiting outside in the early hours in the morning, with one person telling us he has been there waiting from 4:00 this morning now the protect of rome said he expecting about 30 to 35,000 people attending or going to see the body and bidding farewell to pope benedict xvi inside st. peter's basilica from now to wednesday, and 60,000 people are expected to attend the funeral on thursday night. now compare that, brie and frances, with the more than four million pilgrims who are estimated to have attended the funeral of the last pope who died here. of course it was john paul ii in 2005 >> thank you, claudio. >>> now to a desperate rescue effort in vietnam. video shows a group of children walking on to a construction site on new year's eve one of the kids, a boy fell into a pillar buried 115 feet into

st. peter's basilica for three days.hful will be able to pay their respects from today through wednesday. the funeral will be held on thursday led by pope francis. vatican correspondent delia gallagher is in st. peter's square and joins us live. good to see you, delia. you there are with some of the people standing in line. what are they telling you about why they've come? >> reporter: rosemary, some of these people have been here for about two hours now. the basilica is not yet open. i estimate about 300, 400 people are in line this morning. i had a chance to talk to some of them. many of them are theology students who say they were very influenced by the writings of the pope emeritus. obviously there are priests and nuns living in rome. these would be people already in rome, whether passing through for their vacation or people living here. with john paul ii, we saw hundreds of thousands of people in this square. you couldn't move for the people. but he had two months of being ill. so people had plenty of time to come d

st. peter's and you may have just heard a ten ton funeral bell ringing out as well as the magazine enoughemony in the grottos is private, so ends the mass of christian burial for pope emeritus benedict, the mass of christian burial will be held for any catholic who is buried with his church with perhaps a choir not as grand as this and a crowd not as large as this, but there is a sureness and a certainty to the mass and particularly in what is for many people, of course, a sad moment, but in the catholic faith, this is also a celebration because the belief is that this represents the resurrection of the soul and eternal life with god for pope emeritus benedict. i want to bring in molly hunter who was there. it really is an extraordinary sight whether you're there in person, whether you're watching it on television, we know that thousands and thousands of people lined up and waited in the predawn hours to participate in this and it seemed as if throughout the service, which, again, was led by the current pope francis, there was a quietness, a respectfulness and i'm sure a sense of mourning