The Vatican released photos of the tomb of Pope Francis, who was buried on Saturday in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

The release came Sunday morning, as the tomb opened for public viewing. More than 13,000 people filed into the basilica to view the tomb on Sunday, with several thousand more waiting outside, the Italian news agency ANSA reported, citing the police.

All the cardinals in Rome are expected to visit the tomb to pay their respects on Sunday afternoon, according to the Vatican.

PHOTO: A view of the tomb of Pope Francis, as released by Vatican Media on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Vatican Media)

The cardinals are expected to pass through the Holy Door, visit the tomb, then proceed to the chapel where the Salus Populi Romani, an image of the Virgin Mary, is displayed.

PHOTO: A view of the tomb of Pope Francis, who was buried on Saturday, April 26, in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, in a photo released on Sunday, April 27, 2025, by Vatican Media. (Vatican Media)

Francis reportedly would pray before that Byzantine-style icon of the Madonna before and after each of his foreign trips during his 12 years as pope.

PHOTO: Faithful line up to pay their respects to the tomb of Pope Francis inside St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)
Francis, who died last Monday at the age of 88, became on Saturday the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in over a century. He was the first to be buried at St. Mary Major in more than 300 years.

About 250,000 people attend Pope Francis’ funeral service at the Vatican

An estimated 250,000 people attended the funeral service for Pope Francis outside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

Thousands wait in line to visit Pope Francis’ tomb

Tens of thousands of people went to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pay respects to the tomb of Pope Francis. It comes as the process to select the next pope is set to begin in days. NBC News’ Anne Thompson reports.

Watch Pope Francis’ full funeral video as world mourns late Vatican leader

Watch Pope Francis’ full funeral video as world mourns late Vatican leader
About 250,000 people attended the funeral service for Pope Francis on Saturday morning in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, before the late leader of the Catholic Church was transported to the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) in Rome to be buried. While the ceremony followed many traditions developed over centuries of church history, there were some details uniquely chosen by Pope Francis. Watch the ceremony here on CBS News, and find answers to some of your questions about the historic event below.

What time did Pope Francis’ funeral start?

Pope Francis’s funeral began shortly after 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Eastern, 1 a.m. Pacific) at the Vatican, outside St. Peter’s Basilica. The ceremony was presided over by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

People attend the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, in St. Peter’s Square, as seen from Rome, Italy, April 26, 2025. / Credit: Hannah McKay / REUTERS
The funeral followed the Vatican’s liturgical book for papal funeral rites, called the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis. It was broken down into three separate phases, or “stations”: The preparation of the body, the viewing of the body, and then the burial.

An updated edition of the ancient papal funeral rites was approved by Pope Francis last year, changing some longstanding traditions, including the type of coffin used.

Saturday’s service began with music sung by the Sistine Chapel Choir. The first reading was done by American Vatican News journalist, Kielce Gussie.

During the homily, Cardinal Re said “mercy and the joys of the gospel” were two priorities of Pope Francis, “in contrast to the culture of waste.”

“He often reminded us… that we all belong to the same human family and that no one is saved alone,” Re said.

Re said Pope Francis “raised his voice, imploring peace,” because “war always leaves the world worse than it was before. It is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone.”

He said Pope Francis encouraged people to “build bridges, not walls.”

Who attended Pope Francis’ funeral?

Pope Francis’ funeral was attended by thousands of members of the public, as well as religious leaders and heads of state from around the world.

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended, as did former President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden.

President Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, French President Emmanuel Macron and Spain’s King Felipe attend the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, April 26, 2025. / Credit: Nathan Howard / REUTERS
When Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska arrived to take their seats ahead of the service, the gathered crowd erupted in applause. Mr. Trump, who is trying to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, met privately with Zelenskyy earlier in the day.

The Vatican said there were delegations from about 130 countries at the ceremony, with 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs in attendance, including:

Britain’s Prince William U.K. Prime Minister Keir StarmerFrench President Emmanuel Macron Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf ScholzItalian Prime Minister Giorgia MeloniUnited Nations Secretary General Antonio GuterresEU Commission chief Ursula von der LeyenEuropean Council President Antonio CostaBrazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da SilvaArgentina’s President Javier Milei Honduras’ President Xiomara CastroPhilippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.India’s president Droupadi MurmuPresident of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange TouaderaPresident of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix TshisekediPresident of Cape Verde, Jose Maria Neves

Sen. Susan Collins led a bipartisan delegation of Catholic U.S. senators to attend the pope’s funeral.

Where is Pope Francis buried?

In a break from tradition, Pope Francis chose to be buried outside the Vatican at the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where he often went to pray during his papacy. Seven earlier popes are buried there, but he is the first in centuries.

The coffin was transported through the city in an open-topped popemobile, and huge crowds gathered along the procession route to pay their final respects to the late pontiff.

Crowds gather to watch the procession carrying the coffin of the late Pope Francis through the streets of Rome to his final resting place on April 26, 2025. / Credit: Andrei Pungovschi / Getty Images
Those gathered outside St. Mary Major cheered as the procession arrived.

Many popes have been laid to rest inside the Vatican, in the Vatican grottoes, a system of vaults on the lower level of St. Peter’s Basilica — but in his last will and testament, Francis requested he be laid to rest in the church that had special meaning for him.

“I wish that my last earthly journey conclude precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary where I went for prayer at the beginning and end of each Apostolic journey to confidently entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and thank Her for her docile and maternal care,” Francis said in his will.

A view of the Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major) Basilica in Rome on April 24, 2025. / Credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“The tomb must be in the earth; simple, without particular decoration and with the only inscription: Franciscus,” he wrote.

Burial rites were to be led at the site by the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

Among those that were gathered for the arrival of the pope’s coffin at St. Mary Major were individuals from communities Pope Francis supported, including prisoners with special permission, homeless people, members of the trans community and victims and survivors of sex trafficking, the Vatican said.

When will they choose the next pope?

After the funeral, nine days of mourning began, called the Novemdiales.

Eligible cardinals under the age of 80 — currently a group of about 135 — will gather in Rome to prepare for the papal conclave, the centuries-old process to select the next pope. The conclave usually begins around two weeks after a pope’s death, so in this case, likely in early May.

During the conclave, eligible cardinals will isolate themselves and, behind closed doors in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, they will cast ballots for their choice, repeating the process until a candidate receives a two-thirds-plus-one majority. The ballots, which are paper, are burned after each round of voting.

If no choice has been reached, the ballots from that round send up black smoke from the chimney as they burn. When a new pope is finally selected, a cloud of white smoke is sent up to signal the momentous news to the world.