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.

A single white rose was placed on the tomb that said “Franciscus” — the pope’s name in Latin.

A light cast its warm glow over the tomb and a reproduction of the late pontiff’s pectoral cross on the wall above it.

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.

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.

Meanwhile, a special Mass was held in St. Peter’s Square led 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.

No date has yet been set for the conclave, but it must start by May 10.

Cardinals 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.

Pope Francis chose his place of burial in St. Mary Major Basilica, near an icon of the Madonna that he revered, because it reflects his “humble, simple and essential” life, the archbishop who administers the basilica said Friday.

A massive explosion and fire rocked a port Saturday in southern Iran purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant, killing 28 people and injuring around 800 others.

Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the raging fire through the night into Sunday morning at the Shahid Rajaei port. The explosion occurred just as Iran and the U.S. met in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

No one in Iran outright suggested that the explosion came from an attack. However, even Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led the talks, on Wednesday acknowledged that “our security services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage and assassination operations designed to provoke a legitimate response.”

State media offered the casualty figures, saying authorities identified only 10 of the dead, including two women.

Meanwhile, state TV reported the fire was under control and will be fully extinguished later Sunday. It also said activities have resumed at the port, showing footage of containers of a commercial ship being unloaded.

There were few details on what sparked the blaze just outside of Bandar Abbas, causing other containers to reportedly explode.

Pope Francis has been laid to rest at the basilica of saint mary major in Rome, in a simple underground tomb with just his papal name: Franciscus.

His funeral on Saturday attracted as many as 250,000 people, rich and poor alike, who came to pay their respects.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who eulogised Pope Francis, memorialised him as “a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone.”

After the funeral mass on St Peter’s Square, the pope’s coffin was moved to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major for a private burial.

Despite the attendance of the president and princes, it was prisoners, transgender people, migrants and the poor who welcomed his body into the church towards his final resting place.

The pope hoped the ceremony would reflect the priorities of his papacy, where he aimed to emphasise his role as a mere priest rather than a powerful religious leader. 

World leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei, along with royalty, converged on Rome for the funeral. But the group of marginalized people who will meet his casket in a small crosstown basilica are more in keeping with Francis’ humble persona and disdain for pomp.

The Vatican said that 164 delegations are confirmed, including 54 heads of state and 12 reigning sovereigns. French President Emmanuel Macron, who will also attend the funeral, was among those who made it in time to pay last respects to the pope.

Paying respects

Tens of thousands of mourners waited hours in line over three days to bid farewell to Francis, who died Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88. A higher-than-expected turnout prompted the Vatican to extend the basilica’s opening hours overnight.

Angele Bilegue, a nun, was among the last mourners. It was her third time to pay her respects, including once inside the Vatican at his residence in the Santa Marta Domus, where she said she spent six hours praying at his coffin.

“He was my friend, so I went one last time to say goodbye,” she said. “I cried.”

A changing of the guards at Francis’ open coffin signaled the end of the viewing period of the pontiff, who was laid out in red robes, a bishop’s pointed miter and a rosary entwined in his hands. He was being buried with his well-worn black shoes, including scuff marks on the toe — emblematic of the simple life he espoused.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell presided over the closing and sealing of the coffin in his role of camerlengo, or interim Vatican administrator. According to photos released by the Vatican, a white cloth was placed over the pope’s face, and a bag containing coins minted during his papacy was put in the coffin along with a one-page written account of his papacy.

The account, called a rogito, summarized his whole life’s story, from his childhood in Argentina as the son of parents with Italian heritage through his priesthood and promotions eventually to archbishop and cardinal in Buenos Aires — and then pope. It highlighted his “defense of innocents,” his encyclicals and also his illnesses.

“He was a simple and much loved pastor in his archdiocese, who traveled far and wide, also by subway and bus,” read the text of the document, recounting his life as archbishop. “He lived in an apartment and he prepared dinner alone, so he could feel like an ordinary person.”

‘We will see each other again’

Roman neighbors and retired flight attendants Aurelia Ballarini and Francesca Codato came to pay respects to Francis on Friday with very different motivations. Ballarini, 72, was coming to terms with her grief, and Codato, 78, was seeking forgiveness.

For Ballarini, the pope’s death leaves a hole in her life. While only 16 years younger than Francis, she considered him a grandfather figure. Every morning, she would log on to Facebook for his daily greeting, and respond “with a couple of words.”

“He gave everything, gave all of himself, up to the end,” said Ballarini. “I spent the last two days crying. I was not well after his passing — I can’t even say the word. For me he flew away. One day, we will see each other again.”

Codato said that she feels tremendous guilt toward Francis, having forsaken him out of devotion to one of his predecessors, St. John Paul II. When Francis became pope “he was an outsider to me.”

“I feel guilty, because through videos I have seen in these days, I have understood he was a man of enormous humanity, close to the simple people,” she said. “So I came to ask forgiveness, because I feel guilty towards him, like a worm.”

Cardinals ‘are in discussions’

The work of the conclave to choose a new pope won’t start until at least May 5, after nine days of public mourning.

Cardinals have been arriving in Rome, with 149 meeting on Friday morning to discuss church business. They won’t meet again until next week, meaning a conclave date is unlikely to be set until after the funeral.

Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo, who hosted Francis during his last papal trip to Corsica last year, remembered Francis as “a free man” who “humanized the church without desacralizing it.”

He described the atmosphere inside the meetings as “good,” but said that they weren’t yet “at the point of decisions; we are in discussions.”

Papal burial

In keeping with Francis’ embrace of the marginalized, the Vatican said a group of poor and needy people will meet the pope’s coffin to pay homage to him when it arrives at St. Mary Major Basilica for burial on Saturday. It has already become a point of pilgrimage.

The tomb is being prepared behind a wooden barrier within the basilica that he chose to be near an icon of the Madonna that he revered and often prayed before. The burial will take place in private, the Vatican said.

Photos released by the Vatican on Friday show the marble tombstone flat against the pavement, with the simple engraving in Latin that he requested in his last testament: “Franciscus.”

Cardinals will visit the St. Mary Major Basilica on Sunday. Entering through the Holy Door, they will visit the Salus Populi Romani icon, which was dear to Francis, and celebrate evening prayers, the Vatican said.

Security measures

Italy is deploying more than 2,500 police officers and 1,500 soldiers to provide security during the funeral, which is expected to gather about 200,000 mourners in St. Peter’s Square and up to 300,000 people along the 4-kilometer (2½-mile) route from the Vatican to the pope’s burial place across Rome.

The major security operation includes stationing an armed naval vessel off the coast, and putting squads of fighter jets on standby, Italian media reported.

Royals and leaders

Trump, who is traveling with first lady Melania Trump, is scheduled to arrive Friday, after Francis’ coffin has been sealed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s press office previously confirmed his presence, but he told reporters Friday evening on the site of a recent missile attack that he will attend if time permits, given obligations at home related to the ongoing war.

Among the other foreign dignitaries confirmed for the papal funeral are:

— U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer

— Prince William

— King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain

— Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán

— Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva