Presidents, royalty and millions of pilgrims massed in Rome yesterday for the funeral of Pope John Paul in the biggest gathering of the powerful and the humble in modern times. In death the Polish Pontiff who travelled to more countries than any other pope in 2,000 years was drawing millions from around the world for his funeral, to be held outdoors today in St. Peter?s Square. Thousands of pilgrims, among an estimated 4 million packed into Rome, waited cheerfully in the brisk morning air after an all-night vigil to be among the last to see John Paul?s body lying in state in St. Peter?s Basilica. The line was far shorter than on Wednesday when anxious authorities told pilgrims to stay away from the saturated city and police blocked any more from joining the queue.

?It was incredibly cold in the night,? said Maciej Kubat, a 21-year-old student who waited 18 hours in line after coming from Krakow where John Paul was archbishop before becoming pope. ?We got in for about 10 minutes, but it was worth it. I came because this was the best way I knew to show my respect for our Pole.? Among the kings, queens and powerful to attend Friday?s funeral, US President George W. Bush led the way late on Wednesday, visiting the Pope?s body along with his two immediate predecessors ? his father, George Bush, and Bill Clinton.

Aboard Air Force One on the flight from Washington, Clinton and Bush senior had fond memories of the Pontiff, who opposed the two Gulf Wars led by the Bush presidents but supported Clinton?s intervention in Bosnia in the mid-1990s. ?He differed with us on Desert Storm (in 1991),? Bush senior said. ?He worried about the length of the war and the loss of innocents.? Clinton, himself a consummate politician, recalled John Paul?s ability to energise people. ?The man knows how to build a crowd,? Clinton said.

Among other leaders who will attend today?s funeral, which starts at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT), are President Mohammad Khatami of Iran ? the country President George W. Bush accused of being part of an ?axis of evil? ? and the leaders of Britain, France and Germany as well as the king and queen of Spain. Later yesterday, Bush will met Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of his closest allies in the war in Iraq which the Pope staunchly opposed. Italy deployed anti-aircraft missiles, a warship off the coast and thousands of security forces to protect the city. Behind the walls of Vatican City, the cardinals of the Catholic Church turned their minds to John Paul?s successor. The Pope?s 15-page will, which was read to cardinals on Wednesday, was due to be published yesterday. It speaks more about his spiritual legacy than the few possessions he had to pass on to his long-serving aides, a Vatican source said. Cardinals under the age of 80 ? there are 117 in all ? will start a conclave on April 18 to pick the man who will inherit the throne of St. Peter.

The pope will be chosen under Michelangelo frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, and the choice marked by white smoke from the chapel?s chimney and the tolling of St. Peter?s bells. The next pope faces the daunting task of leading 1.1 billion Catholics in an era marked by tension between religions, between science and ethics, between doctrine and social pressure to open up to contraception, women and married priests. There is no favourite candidate to succeed John Paul and the former Karol Wojtyla was himself thought an outsider when he was elevated to the papacy on Oct. 16, 1978.

Cardinals have spoken openly in recent days about the kind of spiritual leader they want. But they will probably stop speaking to media after Friday?s funeral, a cardinal said. ?The cardinals have to concentrate on prayer and reflection,? Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O?Connor told Reuters.

Pilgrims still in the shrinking queue sang songs and waved flags, knowing they would be the last to see the body lying in state before the basilica?s doors are closed. A student from Belfast who had been turned away by police overnight after spending his entire savings to come to Rome was inexplicably let back into line on yesterday.