The first images of Pope Francis’s tomb in the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor

A single white rose and a simple tombstone with a Latin name: “Franciscus”.

The first images of Pope Francis’s tomb in the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor de Rome show the simplicity of the sepulcher that the late Pontiff designed as an eternal abode.

On the name with which he was known during his pontificate, he hangs a silver crucifix illuminated by a single focus.

The deceased Pope was buried in the Church – one of the most important basilicas of the Italian capital, which he regularly visited during his stage as a cardinal and pontiff – in a private ceremony after his public funeral in the Vatican on Saturday.

Hundreds of people queued this Sunday from the early morning to be the first to present their respects to Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at 88.

Among them was Rosario Correale, Italian, who said it was “very emotional” to see the tomb. “He has left us an indelible mark,” he told the Associated Press agency.

The Polish pilgrim Maria Brzezinska considered that the resting place was appropriate for man. “I feel that it is exactly like the Pope was. He was simple, and so is his place now,” Reuters told the news agency after the visit.

Francis was especially devoted to the Virgin Mary, and Santa María la Mayor was the first church dedicated to her when it was built in the fourth century.

The Basilica is located near the Colosseum, a stone shot of the bustling and chaotic Central Station Termini, far beyond the limits of the Vatican, where the potatoes are traditionally buried.

However, the Latin American pontiff had a great affinity with this place.

His main pastor had told an Italian newspaper that Pope Francis expressed his desire to be buried there in 2022, citing the inspiration of the Virgin Mary.

“It seemed incredible that I would like to be buried here, in this basilica,” Morris, another pilgrim, told AP.

“Of all the churches, he chose this. It seemed incredible. It is a true lesson of humility to be here.”

The funeral of Francisco attended heads of state, government and monarchs around the world, as well as hundreds of thousands of Catholics who aligned in the streets that lead to the Vatican to present their respects.

Before Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, pronounced a homily on the Pope’s legacy, hymns were heard in giant speakers, sometimes drowned by the sound of helicopters that flew over the city.

The cardinal stressed that Pope Francis had repeatedly urged the world to “build bridges, not walls.”

The funeral was also the scene of a meeting between the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky, of which the latter said later that he had “potential to become historic.”

Trump subsequently questioned the will of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to end the war in Ukraine, which lasts three years, a conflict with respect to which Pope Francis had regularly made peace calls during his pontificate.

After the public funeral, Pope Francis’s coffin was transferred by Rome in a slow procession.

According to the authorities, 140,000 people aligned themselves in the streets, applauding and greeting while the funeral car – the white papamob Altar of the homeland en La Piazza Venezia.

After a period of mourning, the attention will soon focus on the choice of the next Pope.

The date has not yet been set, but it is believed that it could begin on May 5 or 6, with the assistance of 135 cardinals, which would make it the greatest conclave in modern history.

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