VATICAN CITY (AP) — 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.

Following the service in St Peter’s Square, which drew crowds of around 250,000, Francis was buried during a private ceremony at Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major) Basilica. His tomb is marked simply with the word "Franciscus", his name in Latin, and footage shows a single white rose placed on the all-white stone.

Hundreds of people filed past the tomb of Pope Francis from early on Sunday morning in the Roman basilica where he chose to be buried in a break from tradition. No pope had been laid to rest outside the Vatican in more than a century,