The last mourners to view the body of Pope John Paul II are patiently waiting in line on Thursday morning, and will join the millions who have already given paid their respects to the late Pontiff, whose body remains on St Peter’s Basilica today.

On Wednesday evening the Vatican prohibited any more mourners from joining the end of the queue in attempts to stop people waiting in line for over 12 hours to later be disappointed as the funeral will take place in less than 24 hours.

All those currently in the queue have been guaranteed the chance to enter St Peter’s and to view the body of the late Pope. Officials have reported that approximately 2 million people have poured past the body already as of Wednesday.

Yesterday US President George Bush, and former President’s Bill Clinton and George H.W Bush arrived at approximately 10pm local time (8pm GMT) at the Basilica and were shown to an entrance separate from the crowd. CNN reported that they knelt at surrounding railings for almost four minutes before walking away.

Once the queue of public people finishes filtering its way past Pope John Paul II, there will be a time allowed for viewing by private dignitaries, and preparations can begin for the funeral on Friday.

Rome officials have reported that they believe approximately 5 million people will have come to the city by the time the funeral is completed.

In addition, yesterday the Vatican spokesperson, Navarro-Valls reported that during the Cardinals fourth meeting together since the Pope died, they set the date for the Conclave to elect the new Pope to commence on 18th April.

After the funeral tomorrow there will be nine days of mourning, which will be symbolised by nine requiem Masses, and then on the tenth day they Conclave will begin.

The Cardinals eligible to vote for the new pope are those who are aged under 80, and they are to gather for the Conclave at the Sistine Chapel. However, it has been reported that one of the 117 Cardinals that are eligible to vote in the Conclave may be too ill to do so. The Vatican have recently been told that Jaime Sin from Manila has currently been taken ill and it is not currently clear if he will recover in time to take part in the Conclave.

Also on Wednesday, Navarro-Valls reported to the press that the Cardinals had opened and read Pope John Paul’s will, but he refused to speak about the details held within it. He told though that an Italian and the original Polish version would be published today.

Apparently the will was created as a part of John Paul’s entire pontificate and the first entry was made in 1979.

In addition, the Vatican confirmed that no "secret Cardinal" was named in the Pope’s will which ended speculation that had been surrounding the topic over the past week.

Rumours had spread that the will might hold the name of a secret Cardinal – these suspicions arose after 2003 when John Paul said he was keeping one Cardinal "in pectore" (in his heart) – which is a practice traditionally used to name Cardinals in areas of the world where the Church is receiving much oppression. The "in pectore" Cardinal would therefore not take hold of his Cardinal duties until his name was revealed.

Until the funeral on Friday, which takes place at 10am local time (8am GMT), the Pope’s body will lay in state in St Peter’s. Pope John Paul II served as the head of the Roman Catholic Church for 26 years from October 1978, and the Pole was the first Pope to be elected from outside Italy for 455 years. He died on Saturday 2nd April after suffering heart failure and following complications in addition to many long-term illnesses.