thousands of people have begun paying their respects to the former pope, benedict the sixteenth. following his death at the weekend, his body is now lying in state, in st peter s basilica at the vatican. mourners will be able to file past the casket before the funeral on thursday. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool reports. at dawn, the late pope was moved from the monastery in the vatican where he died, for the short, solemn private procession to saint peter s basilic. # santa maria.#. there he was, taken through the nave to be placed in front of the altar. 0utside, while the ceremony was taking place, thousands had formed a queue that snaked around st peter s square. these were among the first allowed in through the doors to pay their respects. in just the first five hours,
following his death at the weekend, his body is now lying in state, in st peter s basilica at the vatican. mourners will be able to file past the casket until the funeral on thursday. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool reports. at dawn, the late pope was moved from the monastery in the vatican where he died, for the short, solemn private procession to st peter s basilica. # santa maria.# there, he was taken through the nave to be placed in front of the altar. 0utside, while the ceremony was taking place, thousands had formed a queue that snaked around st peter s square. these were among the first allowed in through the doors to pay their respects. in just the first five hours, vatican police say 40,000 people filed past benedict xvi, and they came from all over the catholic world. it s just one of those once
driver and a passenger were rescued from the river lerez, but strong currents due to heavy rains have been hampering the rescue operation. the coach was travelling between the cities of lugo and vigo. britain has welcomed more than 115,000 ukrainian refugees since the start of the russian invasion. many of them have found warmth and company this christmas with the help of community and faith groups. churches, pubs, community halls and other places of worship are also trying to help people cope with the cost of living. figures for the bbc suggest more than half will open as usual over the christmas period to help people struggling to pay heating bills. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool reports. one, two, three. santa claus! they re calling out for santa claus in a church in west london. it is a joyful gathering, but the children here, receiving their gifts from santa, have had an unsettling
for the first time, fewer than half the people in england and wales describe themselves as christian. new figures from the 2021 census also show that, over the last ten years, there s been a steep rise in the number of people who see themselves as having no religion. and there are now over a million more people who say they re muslim. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool reports. we have this huge church building which was built to hold hundreds of people originally, and now it would be about 20 adults and five children on a sunday. be about 20 adults and five children on a sunday- be about 20 adults and five children on a sunday. father ian has recently seen another on a sunday. father ian has recently seen another church on a sunday. father ian has recently seen another church across - on a sunday. father ian has recently seen another church across town - seen another church across town clothes, but even when he started here 14 years ago he had questions about whether it was viable
eugenie. we did not see on camera any exchanges between prince william and his brother prince harry. no obvious things to see there. it is likely we will see more of harry and meghan over the weekend. the national service of thanksgiving here at st paul s this morning celebrated the queen s 70 year reign and lifetime of service. but it was also an opportunity to reflect on her personal faith, and how she s reached out to those of other beliefs. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool reports. it is notjust st paul s cathedral. over the coming days right across the country, prayer services will be held for the queen. we pray for the church and the world, but especially for our patron her majesty the queen on this special week of celebration of her life and work. the queen holds the title of supreme governor of the church of england, and there is a sense she has led by example.