The remains of his Holiness Pope John Paul II have this evening been put on public display at St Peter's basilica.
Pall bearers, cardinals and monks brought his body from his palace to the basilica which will be his burial place.
In a solemn ceremony shown on television, a procession of red-robed churchmen and suited ushers snaked its way slowly through frescoed hallways, down marble stairways and into St Peter's Square, packed with tens of thousands of faithful.
As the Polish Pope 's fully robed body, hands clasped across his chest, emerged into the sunlit square, crowds waiting to file past it applauded in a traditional Italian sign of respect for the dead.
On the threshold of the basilica, the 12 ushers who had been carrying the body feet first, turned it around for a minute so the Pope could face the square where he had presided over thousands of general audiences and Masses for a last time.
The lying-in-state began yesterday but the general public were not permitted to view the pontiff's remains until later this this evening.
When the main door of the majestic basilica opened, crowds of pilgrims streamed up the main aisle and paraded past the man many loved as a spiritual father.
Over the coming days, Pope John Paul's body will lie in state inside the 16th century basilica before his burial on Friday.
Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, the chamberlain of the Vatican, performed a ritual blessing of the body with holy water and incense as a choir chanted in Latin. "May you grant him eternal rest, Lord, and shine your light on him for all eternity," he said.
"For me he was another Christ. He truly lived the life of Jesus. He showed us how to live, how to suffer, how to love and even how to die," said Sister Simone from Austria, standing with fellow nuns from Mother Teresa's order.