Small and fragile amid the pomp.. sudden tears for the reluctant Pope'

Faithful and curious join together to say farewell

- EMILYRETTER

It is the soles of his small feet which greet us, the queue surging forward as it catches first sight of the petite figure of Pope Benedict XVI. Under Michelangelo’s cavernous

dome looming 447ft above the 265th pope in the Vatican’s vast St Peter’s Basilica, the figure of the former pontiff, who died on Saturday, is dwarfed as he lies in state.

And those shoes on feet pointed ruler-straight to heaven look so surprisingly workaday amid all the pomp of his gold-edged white mitre and papal robes, they bring unexpected tears to my eyes.

They are such a sharp contrast to the splendid red slippers he was famous for wearing, they make this statue-like figure appear vulnerable; a 95-year-old man revealed beneath all the layers of leadership.

Yesterday I joined the crowds on the third and final day of the lying in state of Pope Emeritus ahead of today’s funeral – the pope whose surprise resignation in 2013 made history as the first in six centuries.

Although most are Italian here, all nationalities have come.

“It is very raw in there, you feel the sadness,” says Andy Hirst, 37, who has queued while on holiday with his partner Alice Milsom, 29.

The pair from near Colchester, Essex, admit they are “overwhelmed”. Neither are practising Catholics, although Alice was raised one.

“When you see him it brings it all into perspective, how he has devoted his life to his faith,” she says.

“The difficult part was seeing tourists taking photos,” she admits. She didn’t join in.

But many did. As the queue reaches the pope, most camera phones shoot up.