VATICAN CITY – Police reopened the line to St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday, giving the faithful a final chance to pay respects to Pope John Paul II, while details from the pontiff’s last will and testament suggested that he considered resigning in 2000 when he was already ailing and the Roman Catholic church began its new millennium.

Authorities had closed the line Wednesday night as they rushed to make last-minute preparations for the pope’s pomp-filled funeral today, which was drawing leaders from nearly 100 countries. They also closed the basilica for a few hours overnight for cleaning.

By the time the basilica and line reopened, many who had waited hours for a chance to spend a few seconds briefly viewing the pope’s crimson robed body had given up and left, but the line grew strong again as a steady stream of new pilgrims joined the hundreds of thousands already at Vatican City for the funeral.

Rome police chief Marcello Fulvi estimated that some 4 million people had visited the Vatican, surpassing the city’s population of 3.7 million.

Newly arrived Poles, waving red-and-white flags, massed around the Vatican, adding a shimmering stripe of color to the procession. An estimated 2 million were making their journey from John Paul’s native country to pay tribute to the man credited with helping to end communism in Poland and unite Europe.

“We thought we’d find a lot of people here and could not get to the basilica,” said Mikhal Szylar, a 19-year-old student who arrived on a bus from Poland. “We hope we’ll be able to see the pope in a few hours.”

The Vatican also released the text of John Paul’s last will and testament – a 15-page document the late pontiff began writing in his native Polish in 1979, the year after he was elected pope.