Thousands line up to pay respect to Francis, the pope of 'outcasts'

MADRID (Reuters) - Roger Yu, a gay man from the Philippines who abandoned plans to become a priest, said he was in Italy to pay homage to Pope Francis, a spiritual leader he saw as an inspiring supporter of the LGBTQ community.

"I think everybody loves him because he's like pro-poor, pro-LGBT. He opened doors for gay people as well, like us," said Yu, who was raised a Catholic and studied for the priesthood before moving to California to work as a nurse.

"(His) legacy would be for the refugee immigrants and for the outcasts."

Yu joined tens of thousands travelling to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican this week to pay his final respects to Francis, who died on Monday leaving a reputation as a pope who tried to shake up the church by shunning pomp and privilege.

The crowds eager to see him one last time were so large on Wednesday that St Peter's Basilica, where he is lying in state, was kept open more than five hours past its midnight closing time, and then reopened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT).

Jose Luis Nunez, 57, had organised his trip to the Vatican from Guadalajara in Mexico before Francis's death, hoping to receive a blessing from the first Latin American pontiff.

He said he felt an affinity with Francis because they came from the same region.

"I think (people will remember) his charisma of kindness, of being a friend, of trying to be like a friend or a brother to everyone," Nunez said, wearing a 'Lucha Libre' mask worn by one of his favourite wrestlers. "He didn't care about race, colour or gender."

Tour operator Michael Simmermacher had organised a trip to Italy from South Africa to witness the canonisation of Carlo Acutis, an Italian boy who died from leukaemia in 2006 at the age of 15 and was set to be the first saint of the millennial generation.

He was initially disappointed when that event was suspended. But he now saw it as a blessing.

'A PIECE OF HISTORY'

"Not a lot (of people) can really come here (and) we got to be chosen to be here," Simmermacher said. "This is the biggest thing that I would ever be a part of, essentially a piece of history."

Those who couldn't make it to Italy have been paying tribute with ceremonies around the world. Catholics in East Timor held a candle-lit vigil while traders observed a moment of silence on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Francis' advocacy for the poor also touched those who don't practise his faith.

Nino Nugara from Sicily stood in line for four hours to see Francis lying in state and receive communion with his wife.

"I'm not a practicing Catholic, but this Pope is a revolutionary. I hope that those who will follow him next will continue in his footsteps."

He remembered Francis's visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2013, where the pope celebrated mass to commemorate thousands of migrants who died crossing from North Africa.

He also recalled the pontiff's surprise visit to a Rome optician's shop to buy a new pair of eyeglasses and the time Francis ordered salary cuts for the clergy during the pandemic. Both were humble actions that made an impression, Nugara said.

Francis broke with papal tradition by asking to be buried outside the Vatican in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major), where he used to pray before setting off and returning from overseas trips.

His patronage of that church struck a chord with Sister Angela Chikodiri Orji who used to go and pray there when she arrived in Italy 20 years ago with nowhere to live and nothing to eat.

Now, she wants to follow his example by helping the poor, she said.

"I'm planning to open an orphanage, and I want to be doing it the way he used to do, eating with the poor people and the abandoned children," she said.

(Reporting by Carlos Barria, Claudia Greco, Susana Vera, Hannah McKay, Mohammed Salem and Dylan Martinez; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Andrew Heavens)