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Thousands of people queued to visit Pope Francis’s tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica the day after heads of state, royalty and hundreds of thousands of mourners attended his funeral in Rome.
Many crossed themselves and took photos on their phones as they filed past the tomb, marked simply with the name Franciscus.
“Pope Francis for me was an inspiration, a guide,” said Elias Caravalhal, a Rome resident who came “to thank him for what he has done”.
Susmidah Murphy, who was visiting the city from her home in India, said: “It’s unbelievable that he’s no more with us. It’s sad that we don’t get popes like this very often.”
Many of those mourning the late pope were anxious about who would succeed him.
Romina Cacciatore, 48, an Argentinian translator living in Italy, said Pope Francis had transformed the Roman Catholic church into “something more normal, more human. I’m worried about what’s coming.”
Maria Simoni, 53, from Rome, said: “I hope we get another pope as skilled as Francis at speaking to people’s hearts, at being close to every person, no matter who they are.”
Tatiana Alva, 49, from Peru, said Francis had been “very kind, humble. He used language young people could understand. I don’t think the next pope can be the same but I hope he will have an open mind and be realistic about the challenges in the world right now.”
A special mass was held on Sunday morning in St Peter’s Square led by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, who is the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Francis. About 200,000 people attended, according to the Vatican.
More than 220 cardinals will meet at the Vatican on Monday morning to decide the date that the conclave to elect the next pope will begin.
Only cardinals under the age of 80 – 135 in total – are eligible to take part in the conclave, which will begin its deliberations after the completion of nine days of official mourning for Francis.
Jean-Claude Hollerich, a cardinal from Luxembourg, has said he expects the conclave to start within a day or two of the end of the mourning period on 4 May. It must start by 10 May.
Reinhard Marx, a German cardinal, said on Saturday the conclave would last just “a few days”.
The cardinal-electors – about 80% of whom were appointed by Francis – will cast four votes a day until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The news that a successor has been chosen will be communicated by white smoke emitted from the Sistine Chapel.
Cardinals were expected to pay their respects at Francis’s tomb at Santa Maria Maggiore on Sunday.
