Officials at the Vatican are asking mourners to put their phones away and not take selfies with the late Pope Francis as he lies in state at St. Peter's Basilica.

While many of the nearly 130,000 people who have filed through to bid the pontiff farewell have bowed their heads respectfully in prayer, others have held their phones high in an effort to get a photo of Francis lying in an open coffin, according to CNN video footage filmed on Wednesday.

Videos posted on TikTok also showed people posing for selfies in front of Francis' coffin.

"So disrespectful," one person said, in a comment that has reportedly received more than 7,000 likes.

Following criticism that they had not effectively kept phone use in check the previous day, Vatican officials told visitors on Thursday to put their phones away and not take any photos as they went by the coffin.

According to a 1996 Vatican directive, photographing or filming the Pope on "his sickbed or after death" is forbidden except in cases where the interim administrator, known as the camerlengo, approves for documentary purposes.

In the almost 30 years since the directive was issued, technological advances have made smartphones — and their onboard cameras — ubiquitous and have sometimes led to awkward situations when public figures die, and the solemnity of ceremony and ritual competes with the personal desire to document the moment.

The viewing period was expected to end at 6 p.m. local time (midday ET) on Friday, at which point mourners would no longer be permitted to enter the basilica to pay their respects.

Francis' desire to be buried outside the Vatican means that a procession will take place through the streets of Rome after his funeral Mass is held in St. Peter's Square on Saturday morning. He will finally be laid to rest at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, closing out nearly a week of public grieving for the faithful around the world.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are set to attend the pontiff's final send-off, as are former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden, according to reports.

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