Waiting in line takes its toll
From CNN's Anderson Cooper
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 Tens of thousands of people wait in line to view John Paul II's body.
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SPECIAL REPORT |
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VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- In the dead of the night, pilgrims wait on a line in Rome that seems to have no end.
Many will wait six hours or more with the police holding their lines, so no one breaks through, as they try to pay their final respects to Pope John Paul II, who has been lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica since Monday afternoon.
More than four million people have flowed into Rome since the pontiff died late on Saturday, jamming traffic and spilling across the streets around the Vatican.
One group on Wednesday had been waiting for about 20 minutes in one spot.
When the police let them go through, they ran to become one of the lucky two million allowed to file briefly pass his body.
Once the group gets to the barricades, they have to stop again in very close quarters. Everyone is stuck right next to each other.
People stand around for so long, some of them actually pass out or faint, either from the pressure of the crowd or from lack of food or water, because they have been standing in line so long.
The paramedics are on the scene and the crowd parts to bring someone out.
Children sit exhausted as do adults. Those stuck standing watch events happening inside on massive screens.
Everywhere there is music, giant speakers on every block and after hours of waiting, the crowds enter St. Peters Square.
When the crowds finally arrive at the heart of the square, within sight of St. Peter's Basilica, they know that soon they will be able to say goodbye one last time to the pope.
Tom Moscher and Ben Keeley are catholic priests from Vermont. They feel lucky to be here, saying it feels timeless and eternal.
"The whole mass of humanity is swarming around this place. And for a brief moment, the whole world is focusing on Rome. And we could be here -- I mean, we have cameras and we have microphones -- but we could be in the 14th Century," Keeley says.
In the dead of night on this line they stand together. No one is too rich, too poor, too young or too old. On this line, there is only faith.
