Roman Catholic faithful began visiting the tomb of Pope Francis on Sunday, filing past the simple white tomb inside St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome a day after he was bade farewell.
A single white rose was placed on the tomb that said “Franciscus” – the pope’s name in Latin – inside the Santa Maria Maggiore, where the late pontiff would pray after returning from his trips abroad.
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Rosario Correale, from Salerno, Italy, was among those visiting the tomb. He said he experienced “great emotion” at witnessing Francis’ final resting place.
“I see all the people are truly moved,” he said. “He has truly left a mark on us.”
People filed past, many crossing themselves or snapping photos with their phones. Ushers urged them to keep moving to accommodate the thousands who flocked to the Rome basilica to see the tomb, forming a long line outside.
“Pope Francis for me was an inspiration, a guide,” said Elias Caravalhal.
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Caravalhal lives in Rome but was unable to pay his respects to Francis when the body was lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica after his death on Easter Monday at the age of 88. He said he visited the tomb “to thank him for what he has done.”
The tomb was opened on the second of nine days of official mourning for Francis, after which a conclave will be held to elect the next pope.
“Being able to see the pope and his tombstone today, it was really beautiful,” Amaya Morris, a tourist from Los Angeles, California, said. “I thought it was amazing that he wanted to be buried here in this basilica. Out of all of the ones, he chose this one.”
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A special Mass was also celebrated in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state. Parolin is considered a possible contender to be the next pope due to his prominence in the Catholic hierarchy.
“The shepherd whom the Lord gave to his people, Pope Francis, has ended his earthly life and has left us,” Parolin said in his homily, delivered on the first Sunday after Easter. “The grief at his departure, the sense of sadness that assails us, the turmoil we feel in our hearts, the sense of bewilderment: We are experiencing all of this, like the apostles grieving over the death of Jesus.”
The Mass was attended by a crowd estimated at 200,000, among them many young people who originally came to Rome for what was supposed to be the canonization of the first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis, during special holy days devoted to teenagers.
Eyes turn to the papal conclave
Many of those mourning the late pope also expressed anxiety as to who will be chosen to lead the Church.
“He ended up transforming the Church into something more normal, more human,” Romina Cacciatore, 48, an Argentinian translator living in Italy, told AFP. “I’m worried about what’s coming.”
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No date has yet been set for the conclave, but it is expected to start between May 5 and May 10. About 135 Cardinals from around the world who traveled to Rome for Francis’ funeral will be meeting regularly this week ahead of the conclave as they start to chart a way forward for the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church.
German Cardinal Reinhard Marx told reporters on Saturday that the conclave would last just “a few days,” AFP reported.
Marx said the debate over the next pope was open, adding: “It’s not a question of being conservative or progressive… The new pope must have a universal vision.”