Vatican asks visitors not to take selfies with late pope

Mourners pay their respects as Pope Francis lies in state in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. (Susana Vera/Reuters via CNN Newsource)

Vatican officials are asking visitors not to take selfies with the late Pope Francis as he lies in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica, telling them to put their phones away as they passed by the coffin.

Almost 130,000 people have paid their respects to the pontiff, many queuing for hours to glimpse him lying in an open coffin, the Vatican said in a statement.

And while many bowed their heads in reflection and prayer, others held their mobile phones aloft, trying to take photos of Francis at rest, CNN footage filmed on Wednesday inside the basilica showed.

Videos posted on TikTok captured people stopping in front of the coffin to pose for selfies too. “So disrespectful,” read one comment, which has received more than 7,000 likes.

By Thursday, officials were telling visitors to put their phones away and not take photos as they passed the coffin, after they faced criticism for not effectively policing phone use the previous day.

CNN has reached out to the Vatican for comment.

It is forbidden for anyone to photograph or film the pontiff on “his sickbed or after death” except where the camerlengo (interim authority) approves for documentary purposes, a directive issued by the Vatican in 1996 reads.

Since then, advances in technology and the rise of smartphones mean that almost everyone now has a camera on them at all times. And when public figures die, the resulting rituals can sit awkwardly between a solemn, respectful wake and a chance to personally capture a moment in history.

Mourners will still be able to pay their respects to Pope Francis in person until 6 p.m. local time (midday ET) on Friday, at which point the public will no longer be allowed to stand in line to enter the basilica.

On Saturday, the pope will be buried at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore following a ceremony attended by a string of political and religious leaders, royals and celebrities.

Much of the funeral will be held outside in St. Peter’s Square before a procession to Santa Maria Maggiore through the heart of Imperial Rome, past the Roman Forum and Colosseum.