Pope's funeral held at packed St Peter's

VATICAN CITY - With the great bells tolling in mourning, 12 pall bearers have carried Pope John Paul II's simple cypress coffin from St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

The choir started Friday's service by singing the Latin prayer: "Grant him eternal rest, O Lord, and shine your light on him forever."

The coffin was laid on the steps of the vast church, where more than 26 years ago Karol Wojtyla first emerged as pontiff to stun the world with his vitality and charisma.

Four kings, five queens and at least 70 presidents and prime ministers attended the open-air service to pay homage to a man who helped bring down the Iron Curtain, urged unity between faiths and stamped a strict orthodoxy on his own Church.

The Mass was celebrated by some 165 cardinals, led by German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, their dean who was one of the Pope's closest friends and aides.

"O God ... grant your servant and our Pope John Paul, who led your Church with the love of Christ ... the reward promised in the Gospel," Ratzinger said in a prayer.

A red book of scriptures laid on the Pope's coffin fluttered in the blustery wind.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims poured into the Vatican hoping for a glimpse of the ceremony, turning St. Peter's Square and surrounding streets into a sea of fluttering flags -- many in the red-and-white colours of the Pope's native Poland.

Police struggled to hold back the crowds as they surged forward and many faithful fainted from the emotion.

"Our whole world will be different now," said 18-year-old Beata from Poland, tears rolling down her cheeks as the Pope's coffin emerged into weak sunlight. "I don't know what we will do without him to lead us."

Up to 2 million more people watched the service on giant television screens around Rome -- pictures that will be broadcast to a potential world audience of billions.

The Polish Pontiff died on Saturday after a decade of suffering and sickness, unleashing a worldwide outpouring of grief within the Roman Catholic Church and beyond.

His crimson-robed body lay in state in St. Peter's Basilica for four days, bringing millions of pilgrims streaming through the Vatican in an epic vigil that almost paralysed Rome.

Among 2,500 dignitaries of all faiths and races invited to the Renaissance square were US President George W. Bush, whose limousine sported Vatican and US flags, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Britain's Prince Charles and various Arab leaders.

"Maybe today will make us hope of a future of peace, not of conflict and hatred," Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said in an interview in Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Cuban President Fidel Castro, who was not present, accused Bush of "hypocrisy" for attending the funeral, saying the Pope had been a fierce critic of capitalism's abuses.

Italy closed the airspace over central Rome and called in extra forces, anti-aircraft missiles and patrol boats to guard the funeral.

- REUTERS