Vatican City (AP) – The Roman Catholic faithful began to visit the tomb of Pope Francis Sunday, deposit beyond the simple white grave in the Basilica St. Mary Major during the day after being goodbye by the powerful of the world and a crowd of hundreds of thousands.
A single white rose was placed on the tomb which said “Franciscus” – the name of the Pope in Latin. A light throws its warm light on the grave and a reproduction of the pectoral cross of the deceased on the wall above.
People have passed the past, many come across or taking photos with their phones. The bailiffs urged them to continue to move to accommodate the thousands of people who flocked to the Basilica of Rome to see the tomb, forming a long line outside.
“Pope Francis for me was an inspiration, a guide,” said Elias Caravalhal.
Caravalhal lives in Rome but could not pay tribute to Francis when the body was lying in the state of the Saint-Pierre basilica after his death on Easter Monday at the age of 88. He said he had visited the tomb “to thank him for what he did.”
The tomb was opened the second of the nine days of official mourning for Francis, after which a conclave will be held to elect the next pope.
A special mass was also celebrated on Saint-Pierre square on Sunday by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Vatican. Paroline is considered A possible competitor Being the next pope because of his prominence in the Catholic hierarchy.
Faithful alignment to pay tribute to the tomb of Pope Francis inside the St. Mary Major basilica in Rome, Sunday April 27, 2025. (AP photo / Alessandra Tarantino)
“The shepherd that the Lord gave to his people, Pope Francis, ended his earthly life and left us,” said Parolin in his homily, delivered the first Sunday after Easter. “The sorrow at his departure, the feeling of sadness that assaulted us, the torment that we feel in our hearts, the feeling of perplexity: we live all this, like the apostles in tears of the death of Jesus.”
Mass was followed by a crowd estimated at 200,000, including many young people who originally came to Rome for what was supposed to be the canonization of the first millennium, Carlo Acutis, during the special holy days devoted to adolescents. Many groups of young people, some in screening uniforms, attended Saturday at the funeral of Francis And again completed Saint-Pierre square on Sunday.
No date has yet been set for the conclave, but it should start between May 5 and May 10. The cardinals who went to Rome for the funeral of Francis will meet regularly this week before the conclave while they start to trace a path to the Catholic church of 1.4 billion.
Pope Francis has chosen his burial place Basilica St. Mary MajorNear an icon of the Madonna he venerated, because she reflects her life “humble, simple and essential”, the archbishop who administers the basilica said on Friday.
“It is incredible that he is no longer with us,” said Susmidah Murphy, tourist in Kerala, India. “It’s sad that we don’t get popes very often like that.”
