Pope Francis regularly called a church in Gaza to ask how residents there were doing during the Israel-Hamas war. He is remembered as a defender and consoling presence.

It meant a lot to me to see him, he gave us so much,” said one woman who waited in line to file past the pontiff’s casket.

Roger Yu, a gay man from the Philippines who abandoned plans to become a priest, said he was in Italy to pay homage to Pope Francis, a spiritual leader he saw as an inspiring supporter of the LGBTQ community.