Vatican City - Pope John Paul agonized over whether to resign before dying as pontiff, his will revealed on Thursday as presidents and patriarchs joined a multitude of pilgrims in Rome for his funeral.
A sea of red-and-white Polish flags fluttered over a crowd of pilgrims waiting to be the last to see the Pope's body in St. Peter's Basilica before his funeral onFriday in the biggest gathering of the powerful and the humble in modern times.
"He was the greatest Pole there will ever be. He was our father, our friend, our liberator," said Piotr Buchta, queuing after a 26-hour bus journey from thePope's birthplace Wadowice.
Italian authorities closed the airspace over central Rome and deployed missiles to guard guests during the funeral of the Polish Pope who travelled to morecountries than any pontiff before him.
John Paul's last will and testament, released to the public on Thursday, indicated that in the year 2000 while suffering from Parkinson's Disease he wastormented over whether to resign after leading the Roman Catholic Church into the new millennium.
"I hope He (God) helps me understand until what moment I have to continue in this service to which he called me on October 16, 1978," he wrote in 2000,referring to the date when he was elected.
In the end, the Pope carried on and died after suffering publicly with Parkinson's in what many consider to be his last great gift to the world.
In the will, written over a period of more than two decades, the Pope indicates that early in his pontificate he considered the possibility of a funeral in Poland --a wish eagerly shared by millions of his countryman but not to be.
"UNPRECEDENTED GATHERING"
Some 4 million pilgrims, many Poles, have packed into Rome this week, creating gridlock around Vatican City. But the queue of faithful waiting to enter St.Peter's was far shorter than on Wednesday when anxious authorities told newcomers to stay away.
"He came to visit us in Mexico five times, and he always said he was Mexican. This time it was our turn to come to him," said Gilberto Mendez Silva, 38, whoflew in on Thursday and was wearing a gold and black sombrero.
NATO said it would send an AWACS spy plane to Rome to protect air space during the funeral, which a spokesman called "possibly an unprecedentedgathering of world leaders".
While the masses lined up, U.S. President George W. Bush led the stream of political potentates and royalty due to attend the funeral, visiting the Pope's bodylate on Wednesday with his two predecessors -- his father, George Bush, and Bill Clinton.
"The man knows how to build a crowd," quipped Clinton after sharing memories with Bush senior 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.
SWARMING CROWDS
The funeral, which starts at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) in St. Peter's Square, will bring Bush close to President Mohammad Khatami of Iran -- one of the countries inhis "axis of evil" -- and juxtapose heads of other hostile countries too.
The guest list also includes the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, the king and queen of Spain, patriarchs of other Christian churches and UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe was on his way even though the European Union has imposed travel sanctions on his government after accusations ofvote rigging in 2000.
Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian was making an unprecedented visit to the Vatican, undermining chances of the Holy See switching ties from Taipei toBeijing.
The Italian military stationed concealed Spada and Hawk surface-to-air missiles across the city, officials said. A warship patrolled off the coast, helicoptersand warplanes were on standby and more than 6,500 security forces guarded the city.
Bomb squads made routine checks, but the biggest concern remained controlling the large crowds.
To allow the swarm of pilgrims to get near St. Peter's on Friday, all cars will be banned from Rome's streets and public offices, schools and many shops will beclosed. Twenty-seven giant screens will broadcast the three-hour funeral across Rome.
"JUST IN SHOCK"
Police stopped people from joining the line late on Wednesday but later allowed the last stragglers to see the body before the basilica's doors close later onThursday. Many of the last pilgrims were Poles who arrived overnight.
"I can't believe it," said Louis McVeigh, a 21-year-old student from Belfast who was turned away after spending his entire savings to come to Rome, then letback into line. "It all worked out well in the end. I'm just in shock."
Behind the walls of Vatican City, the cardinals of the Catholic Church turned their minds to John Paul's successor.
Cardinals under the age of 80 -- there are 117 in all -- will start a conclave on April 18 to pick John Paul's successor.
The Vatican said 140 cardinals had gathered for a fifth day of talks on Thursday, putting the finishing touches to the funeral plans and thinking ahead to theconclave.
The pope will be chosen under Michelangelo frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, and the choice announced to the world with white smoke from its chimney and thepealing of St. Peter's bells.
The eight conclaves in the last century lasted from two to five days.
The next pope faces the daunting task of leading 1.1 billion Catholics in an era marked by tension between doctrine and pressure to open up to contraception,women and married priests.