As Pope Francis lies in state, Catholics gather in Rome to say goodbye

By Angelo Amante and Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Maria Pia Caruso travelled to Rome from her hometown in northern Italy after she learned Pope Francis had died at age 88, to say a final goodbye to a pontiff she believes brought important changes to the global Catholic Church.

Caruso entered St. Peter's Square with her husband at 7 a.m., to make sure they had a seat to watch the solemn procession bringing the pope's body to St. Peter's Basilica, where it will lie in state for three days.

"This pope has been really important," said Caruso, speaking with her husband, Roberto Vallone. "(Francis) has changed many things ... let's hope that his successor continues with these changes and there is no going back."

Catholic faithful - already expected in Rome in large numbers for the Easter holiday and the ongoing Catholic Holy Year - will be allowed to pay their final respects to the pope through Friday evening.

The funeral, which will bring U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders to Rome, will take place on Saturday morning. Italian authorities expect some 200,000 people to attend.

"This is the first time I have come to pay my respects to a pope," said Maria Russo, an Italian volunteer at Rome's Bambino Gesu children's hospital.

She said she had met Francis during a weekly papal audience in St. Peter's Square last year, and had gifted him a red clown nose, something medical personnel wear to cheer their patients.

The moving of the pope's body occurred under a hot spring sun in Rome. Crowds were watching from the large esplanade in St. Peter's Square in front of the basilica, while bells gently tolled a male choir sang chants.

Some pilgrims had also travelled to Rome for the expected ceremony for Francis to proclaim the Church's first saint from the millennial generation, which was to have been held on Sunday, but has now been postponed indefinitely.

U.S. pilgrim Sylvia Cantu Stewart said she had come to see Carlo Acutis, who died of leukaemia at age 15 in 2006, become a saint.

"Our plans have changed, and we feel that it's a God (plan) that we're here," she said, saying she felt "blessed" by the coincidence.

Francis, birth name Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was originally from Argentina and was the first Catholic pontiff from the Western hemisphere.

Some of his Argentinian compatriots were also in the crowd in front of the Basilica. Francis left his homeland in 2013 to become the head of the Church and never returned to visit.

"In recent years he has not had such a close relationship with Argentina," said Argentine Sofia Solari. "But we, my family, understand him. Even if there are many in Argentina who are not so happy because he has (stayed) away."

(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Joshua McElwee; Editing by Alex Richardson)