VATICAN CITY - Clutching rosaries, medals and flowers, thousands of people filed past the simple white marble tomb of Pope John Paul II today, as the Vatican reopened the grottoes beneath St. Peter's Basilica for the first time since the pope died.

Some said they had come not only to pray for John Paul, but also to pray to him. Many Roman Catholics believe John Paul, who died April 2 at age 84, was a saint.

"I'm hoping maybe for a little miracle," said Myrna Palmer, 67, of Hagerstown, Maryland. "I'm praying to him that my husband gets his eyesight back."

Pilgrims lined up in the crisp morning air as early as 4 a.m., three hours before the grottoes were reopened.

"We are Catholics, and we had to see the pope one last time," said Angelo de Tommaso, a 30-year-old accountant who traveled overnight by bus from the southern Italian town of Ginosa to be among the first in line.

Pilgrims knelt before the grave to pray, and many handed religious articles to an usher, who touched them to the grave before handing them back.

But ushers kept the crowd moving quickly, even hurrying some people who knelt in prayer. Many of the faithful were disappointed that they didn't get a chance to spend more time in reflection.

"It was very quick. They were going, 'Avanti, avanti, avanti,'" said Jim Neil, 52, of Glasgow, Scotland. "Just a quick genuflection, a quick sign of the cross, and it was, 'Move on.'"

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 the 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 PAULUS PPII." (PP is the Latin abbreviation for pope.) And on another line are the dates of his 26-year pontificate using Roman numerals."

Underneath is the interlocking X and P - the monogram for Christ.

The grave lies just steps from the tomb traditionally believed to be that of the apostle Peter, the first pope.

Some of the cardinals who will sequester themselves inside Vatican City next week to choose a new pope prayed by the grave Tuesday evening in their last homage before the grottoes were reopened to the public.

Two-by-two, in crimson robes and tall white bishops' miters, they stood at the foot of the marble slab and bowed their heads.

Today, the cardinals resumed their preparations for the conclave, which begins Monday, and they also met the Vatican diplomatic corps, which formally presented condolences.

"John Paul II wasn't content to just issue exhortations through his encyclicals, his pastoral letters, his homilies and other papal documents, but he wanted to be personally near each man; that's why he made pilgrimages around the world," said Ambassador Giovanni Galassi, the dean of the diplomatic corps and ambassador of San Marino.