Tens of thousands of mourners converged on the Vatican on Friday for a last chance to pay their respects to the late Pope Francis as a three-day-long period of lying in state entered its final few hours.

The parish priest of Gaza's only Catholic church talks about getting daily calls from Pope Francis during the Israel-Hamas conflict.

More than 250,000 people paid their last respects to Pope Francis over three days of public viewing by ordinary mourners and statesmen alike that ended Friday, the eve of his state funeral in St.

The Vatican said Friday some 150,000 mourners have filed past the body of Pope Francis, who is lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica.

When Pope Francis died, he was recovering at the Vatican after a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia and other health issues.

After the pope suffered a massive stroke Monday morning, his medical team saw no point to sending him to a hospital. He died soon after.