The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore opens to the public

Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary Major opens its doors early this Sunday so the faithful can visit the tomb of Pope Francis, buried there yesterday after a well-attended funeral.

The tomb consists of a marble slab from the Liguria region (north), where the pontiff's Italian ancestors were from , with a single inscription: 'FRANCISCUS', his papal name in Latin.

All in white, on the wall there is also an enlarged reproduction of his pectoral cross , in silver and with the Good Shepherd.

In his will, released recently by the Holy See press office, the Pope stated that the cost of the tomb would be covered by an unknown benefactor.

Francis chose a simple, ground-level, undecorated tomb inside the church, next to the chapel of a Marian icon to which he was deeply devoted, the 'Salus Populi Romani'.

It was because of his devotion to this image of the Virgin Mary , before which the Argentine pope often went to pray, that he expressed his desire to be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Furthermore, this burial site has not involved any structural modifications to this historic Roman basilica, one of the four papal basilicas along with St. Peter's in the Vatican, St. John Lateran, and St. Paul Outside the Walls.