Roman Catholic faithful began visiting the tomb of Pope Francis on Sunday, filing past the simple white tomb in St. Mary Major

Crowds of mourners waited in line on Sunday for a chance to visit Pope Francis’ final resting place in the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Rome, a day after his funeral service that was attended by world leaders and royalty.

Thousands of faithful gathered since from early hours of Sunday at Rome's Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major to pray and pay their respects to Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday. The flow of faithful has continued uninterrupted since 7 am when the basilica opened its doors,