Vatican City (AFP) - Catholic faithful poured into St Peter’s Square from all corners of the globe on Saturday, determined to honour Pope Francis after waking up at dawn or spending the night in sleeping bags.

Within an hour of the opening of the square, the empty chairs for the public were already filled by those anxious for a front-row seat to history.

“People were pushing and running,” said Andrea Ugalde, a childcare worker from Los Angeles who arrived at 1:00 am (2300 GMT) and described the moment security agents opened the crowd control barriers as “madness”.

French student Jean-Baptiste Leclezio, 22, was one of the lucky ones, having slept on the ground overnight in order to be assured of a spot.

“We took floor mats and sleeping bags and we slept there with 400 people, a lot of young people, scouts,” he told AFP.

“There were people singing all night but we managed to sleep,” he said.

Authorities said nearly 200,000 people filled the Baroque plaza in front of St Peter’s Basilica and packed the wide Via della Conciliazione leading up to the Vatican for the funeral of Francis, 88, who died on Monday.

Aerial images showed a sea of people gathered at the Catholic enclave for the unfolding of the centuries-old ceremony to honour the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

- ‘Most beautiful thing’ -

Australian Eloise Bird, 38, said she was tired but happy to have made it into the square having queued up since 5:15 am with her four children.

Determined to make the most of a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”, she said it had been “very hard getting in here”.

“There was so much pushing. The little children were just getting squished from every side,” she said.

Peruvian social worker Gabriela Lazo, 41, meanwhile, “spent the whole night here in the car”.

“Being at the funeral with my family and being able to hear the mass is the most beautiful thing,” said Lazo.

“We would have liked to see him in person… but thank God and him that we are here at this moment.”

Many in the crowd were young pilgrims with flags and banners draped over their shoulders, pressed against barricades or sitting in circles near the plaza’s majestic colonnades of Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Mexican student Jessica Kinzie, 22, said she was elated to be so close, even though she was behind a barricade.

“It’s just such a historic moment – it’s insane for us to be here,” she said.

“I know he was the head of the Church and everything but for me, more than anything, I think I’ll remember him for his humanitarian side,” she told AFP.

Giant television screens gave a closer view of the funeral to those further away, broadcasting images of the world leaders in attendance and red-robed cardinals praying for Francis.

Spontaneous applause erupted amongst the crowd of faithful as Francis’s coffin emerged from the doors of St Peter’s.

“He represented peace and acceptance,” said Cyril Clark, a student from the United States.

“He seemed a good pope for everybody.”