All Roads Lead to Rome in Tribute to Pope John Paul II
The outpouring of mourning for Pope John Paul II blossomed into a vast religious pilgrimage on Tuesday, with at least a million people flocking to St. Peter's Square by the end of the first full day of public grieving over the pope's body. Five million are expected to say goodbye to the Pontiff before the funeral on Friday morning.

The influx, which has both amazed and alarmed Italian and Vatican officials, began straining the city's security and emergency services, with three days to go before the pope's funeral.

On Tuesday, the line of those waiting to pay homage to the Pope wound through the streets near the Vatican, curved around the old city walls and through arches and filled the grand boulevard, Via Della Conciliazione, leading to St. Peter's Square. Security officials kept open gaps; when enough space opened up with the advance of the line, they allowed a portion to advance. People trotted forward happily. The mood was generally light, almost celebratory.

Dignitaries who have confirmed their attendance at Pope John Paul II's funeral include Costa Rican president Abel Pacheco, who is already in Rome and other Central American presidents, like Enrique Bolaños from Nicaragua, Guatemala's president Oscar Berger and first lady Wendy de Berger, Honduras president Ricardo Maduro, and Panama's First lady, Vivian Fernandez de Torrijos.

The arrival of U.S. President George W. Bush, accompanied by his wife, his father and former president George Bush and former president Bill Clinton has many worried about possible terrorism.

No date for the start of the conclave to elect the pope -- which must come 15 to 20 days after his death - was announced. The date is one of the most important of the cardinals' early decisions.

Only cardinals under 80 can vote for pope, and there are 117 in that category. Only three of those have taken part in a previous conclave, and many do not know each other. The daily meetings, called general congregations, have therefore become get-acquainted sessions and, many Vatican watchers say, the informal start of conversations about who among them will become the next pope.

Inside the Vatican, the cardinals into whose hands the church has now been entrusted met for a second day to deal with matters according to a papal transition plan written by John Paul in 1996. They appeared to be operating at a deliberative pace.

Some details of the pope's burial, and the election of his successor, did emerge.

In a departure from ancient ritual, the announcement of a new pope - traditionally signaled by white smoke - would be driven home by the ringing of bells. In the past, a muddled color of smoke had caused confusion.

Navarro-Valls confirmed that John Paul would be buried in the earth -- which he said was the pope's wish -- beneath where the tomb of John XXIII once was in the Vatican grottoes, where more than 70 of the 264 popes are buried. John's body was moved into the basilica in 2000 to accommodate the crowds of visitors after his beatification.