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.

No pope had been laid to rest outside the Vatican in more than a century, but Francis opted instead for burial in Santa Maria Maggiore, located in the Italian capital's most multi-cultural neighbourhood.