Cardinals announce conclave, Pope queue closed

VATICAN CITY - Cardinals have decided to start a conclave to elect a successor to Pope John Paul on April 18 as more than 1 million people lined up to see the Pontiff's body, bringing chaos to Rome.

Italy called in the army to help manage the rapidly swelling tumult ahead of Friday's funeral, which is set to be one of the biggest in history, and prepared to shut off the endless queue of faithful who were waiting up to 14 hours to see the body.

"The number of people is staggering and is growing constantly," Rome police chief Achille Serra told Reuters, saying 4 million people had descended on Rome and Vatican City since John Paul's death on Saturday.

"This is unprecedented."

Hidden from the massing pilgrims, Catholic cardinals chose the start date for the conclave to replace a giant figure of the 20th century who helped topple Communism in Europe but drew criticism from some for his uncompromising doctrinal views.

The electors will vote in the Sistine Chapel twice a day until they have selected a new pontiff.

The conclave will be open to all cardinals aged under 80 -- 117 in all. A two-thirds majority is needed to choose the pope.

Most modern conclaves have lasted only a few days, but if cardinals have failed to elect a pope after about two weeks of balloting, they can opt for a simple majority vote.

Rome faced partial paralysis on Wednesday as even more pilgrims from around the world flooded into the city to pay their respects to a Pope who travelled more than any of his predecessors.

Authorities said they would not allow anyone else to join the lines from 10pm (8am Thursday NZt) -- almost a day ahead of schedule -- so that the swelling crowd of faithful could pass through St Peter's Basilica ahead of the Friday funeral.

Medics around Vatican City said they had treated hundreds of people, most of whom fainted after waiting as long as 14 hours.

"It's a long time to wait," said Craig Simoneaux, 49, from Illinois."But how long does it really take to say goodbye? "

The elaborate funeral rites will draw the biggest gathering of the powerful and the humble in modern times. Four kings, five queens, at least 70 presidents and prime ministers and more than 14 leaders of other religions will attend.

Some of the dignitaries meet rarely if ever, a fitting tribute to a Pope who spoke out for world peace.

The chairs already laid out in St Peter's Square will seat US President George W Bush near President Mohammad Khatami of Iran, one of the countries Bush included in his "axis of evil".

Asked if he was worried about a security threat, Rome police chief Serra said: "We have received no worrying indications."

There is no favourite candidate to succeed John Paul and the former Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow was himself thought an outsider when he was elevated to the papacy on Oct. 16, 1978.

However, cardinals have started sketching in public their preferences. Some believe the next pontiff should come from a developing country in the Southern Hemisphere, where two thirds of the 1.1 billion Catholics live.

"Is it time for a pope from Latin America or Africa," Jozef Glemp from Poland said.

"Yes, it's possible.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters that John Paul's last will and testament was read to the cardinals on Wednesday and would be released on Thursday.

He said the document, which is likely to be of a spiritual nature, was roughly 15 pages long and written over the course of his pontificate, starting in 1979, the year after his election.

On the streets of Rome, young and old alike queued patiently in the warm spring sun before entering the basilica, where the Pope's crimson-robed body lay on a bier, bathed in light.

More than 1 million pilgrims have filed past the body, lying on a simple bier, since it was moved to the basilica on Monday. Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni said 1.2 million people were queuing in streets around the Vatican on Wednesday to pay homage.

Police shut off major streets to accommodate the crowds, creating a domino-effect of traffic chaos across the city.

Rome authorities ordered all public offices to close on Friday and urged businesses to shut. Private cars were ordered off the roads to make way for the vast influx of mourners. Giant screens were being put up across Rome to broadcast the funeral.

"Only half the roads in Rome are open now and the other half are gridlocked. And this is only Wednesday," said one angry taxi driver, Nicola d'Enrico.

The US president, the first to attend a pope's funeral, was expected to join the mourners in St Peter's late Wednesday or early Thursday shortly after arriving from Washington.

To protect the funeral guests, Rome is drafting in thousands of extra police, a surveillance plane, anti-aircraft missiles and a warship off the Mediterranean coast. From Thursday, no aircraft will be allowed to fly over the Italian capital.

The Vatican spokesman said the cardinals had considered briefly moving John Paul's closed coffin to St John's Basilica in Rome after the funeral to let more people see it, but had decided not to because of huge logistical problems involved.

He will instead be buried immediately in the Vatican.

Just one week ago, Pope John Paul made his last public appearance, failing dramatically to utter words of blessing to a crowd outside his Vatican window. Three days later, he died in his apartment of septic shock and heart failure.

- REUTERS