The grottoes under St. Peter's Basilica where Pope John Paul II was laid to rest opened to the public yesterday, with hundreds filing past John Paul's simple tomb.
It was the first public viewing since the beloved pontiff's burial Friday, and hundreds had started queuing up in the early hours ahead of the scheduled opening at 7am.
On Tuesday evening, cardinals prayed by the pope's grave in what was their last homage before the grottoes were reopened to the public.
Two-by-two, in crimson robes and tall white bishop's miters, cardinals stood at the foot of John Paul's grave and bowed their heads.
yesterday the cardinals resume their preparations to elect a new pope.
They are meeting daily until the election conclave begins April 18 to pray together for guidance, to get to know each other and to manage the day to day affairs of the church.
Those affairs include reviewing the Vatican's complex finances; the Holy See has operated at a deficit over the last three years.
Financial matters occupied the cardinals in their two latest pre-conclave meetings this week, an indication of the seriousness of the problems confronting the Vatican with its huge salaried staff of 2,674 people and soaring expenses.
The financial statement for 2003, the latest to be publicly released, reported revenues of US$250 million, US$11 million short of costs.
Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, the Vatican's economic chief, briefed the church leaders on the consolidated financial statements for 2004 and on some key points for 2005, a statement said. It gave no details.
Time also has been spent at the meetings in contemplation over the task ahead -- the heaviest that the cardinals must bear -- of choosing a new pope. It will be the first conclave for all but three of the 115 cardinals who will cast ballots.
If recent history is any guide, the voting may go quickly. Of the eight 20th century conclaves, no election went longer than five days, and two of them were completed on the second day. It took just eight ballots over three days to choose the relatively unknown archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, in 1978.
The public viewing of John Paul's simple tomb is likely to draw pilgrims back to St. Peter's, which had all but emptied after Friday's funeral. The Vatican said 3 million people flocked to Rome to mourn the pope's death, but most left within a day after the burial.
The tomb sits alone in an arched alcove to the right of the main altar of the central nave, a leafy potted lily behind it and a small red candle burning at its front. A marble relief of the Madonna and Child hangs on the wall above.
A rectangular white slab of marble with gray streaks marks the grave. On one line it bears his name carved with gold in Latin script: "IOANNES PAVLVS PPII." And on another line are the dates of his 26-year pontificate using the Roman numerals for the month: "16 X, 1978-2 IV, 2005."
Underneath is the interlocking X and P -- the monogram for Christ.
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