Roman Catholic faithful began visiting the tomb of Pope Francis on Sunday, filing past the simple white tomb in St. Mary Major Basilica a day after he was bade farewell by the powerful of the world and a crowd of hundreds of thousands.

Francis, who shunned much of the pomp and privilege of the papacy, asked to be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore - rather than at the Vatican.

The pope’s burial site, at his request, is the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the four papal basilicas in Rome. He joins seven other popes buried there.