One million Poles heading to Rome for pope's funeral: foreign ministry

WARSAW - One million Poles are expected to travel to Rome for the funeral of native-born John Paul II, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.
"According to information gathered from Polish railways and Austrian border officials, we estimate that around one million Polish pilgrims will go to Rome," foreign ministry official Maciej Szymanski told AFP.
In Rome, Polish pilgrims will be able to call a freephone number -- 800 49 46 16 -- from any public callbox, for help and advice in Polish, Szymanski said.
Around a million pilgrims were massed early Wednesday in the area around St Peter's Basilica, where the body of Pope John Paul II is lying in state, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Streets in the surrounding area were packed with mourners keen to pay their last respects -- the queues stretched more than two kilometres (1.5 miles) with a waiting time of up to 12 hours.

04/06/2005 15:12 GMT