Plans revealed for pope's burial in grotto

VATICAN CITY -- Before he died Saturday at age 84, Pope John Paul II made his wish known "to be buried in the ground" and not placed in an above-ground tomb, Archbishop Piero Marini said Tuesday.\nJohn Paul will be buried in the tomb left vacant after the remains of Pope John XXIII were exhumed from the cramped grotto under St. Peter's Basilica in 2001 and moved to the main floor after his beatification.\nJohn Paul will be laid to rest with a white silk veil on his face, a rosary in his hands and his body clad in liturgical vestments and the white miter. Adhering to the centuries-old custom for burying popes, his body will be placed inside three coffins -- wood, zinc and wood -- a design meant to slow decomposition, the Vatican confirmed.\nAn estimated 600,000 mourners streamed past John Paul's crimson-robed body in St. Peter's Basilica during the first 24 hour of viewing, city authorities said. Millions are expected in Rome for Friday's funeral.