Hundreds of people queued on Sunday (April 27) as the tomb of late Pope Francis in Rome's St Mary Major Basilica opened to the public.

Francis, who shunned much of the pomp and privilege of the papacy, had asked to be buried there rather than in St. Peter's -- the first time a pope had been laid to rest outside the Vatican in more than a century.

His tomb has just "Franciscus," his name in Latin, inscribed on the top. A reproduction of the simple, iron-plated cross he used to wear around his neck hangs above the marble slab.

"It’s exactly the way how was the Pope. He was simple, and so is his place now," Polish pilgrim, Maria Brzezinska, said after paying a visit to Francis' tomb.

On Saturday, his coffin was carried on an open-topped popemobile through the streets of Rome, cheered by thousands of mourners. More than 250,000 people attended his funeral Mass in St Peter’s Square, including royals, heads of state and the cardinals who will elect his successor.

Francis, who served as the head of the Roman Catholic Church for 12 years, had requested burial at St Mary Major, rejecting the traditional resting place of popes in the crypt beneath St Peter’s Basilica.

(Production: Yesim Dikmen, Cristiano Corvino, Roberto Mignucci, Matteo Negri)