CROWDS BEGIN PAYING LAST RESPECTS TO POPE

Pope Paul II`s body was carried solemnly on a crimson platform to St. Peter`s Basilica, past a sea of more than 100,000 pilgrims who waited for hours today under a blistering sun for a glimpse of the late pontiff before his funeral and entombment. Twelve pallbearers flanked by Swiss Guards in red-plumed helmets gingerly marched the body from the Vatican`s Apostolic Palace, where it had lain in state for prelates and dignitaries, to the basilica for display to the public. Incense wafted through the church where John Paul`s body will be laid to rest Friday in an ancient grotto holding the remains of popes through the ages, after a funeral to be attended under heavy security by President Bush and dozens of other world leaders. Up to 2 million pilgrims are expected in Rome to pay their final respects. Since John Paul`s death Saturday, St. Peter`s Square has been transformed into an outdoor shrine of thousands of candles, farewell letters and notes scribbed on train tickets and tissues fused in puddles of melting candle wax. The scene was reminiscent of the impromptu tributes that swelled in Paris and London after the 1997 car crash that killed Princess Diana.