Over 70,000 mourners have already
paid homage to Pope Francis by visiting his tomb in the Basilica
of St Mary Major, Rome police said on Monday.
The Argentine pontiff, who died aged 88 on April 21 after 12
years at the helm of the Catholic Church, was laid to rest at
the basilica on Saturday after his funeral in St Peter's Square.
It was opened to visits by members of the public on Sunday.
Francis was fond of Saint Mary Major.
He would always go there to pray before and after every
apostolic journey he went on and he asked to buried there, not
in St Peter's like most other popes, in his testament.
Over 150,000 people lined the streets of Rome to bid a final
farewell to Francis as his coffin was taken through the streets
of Rome from St. Peter's Square to Saint Mary Major in a
popemobile on Saturday.
Around 250,000 people were in St Peter's Square and the
surrounding area for the funeral for a total of around 400,000
mourners.
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