Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday at the age of 88, had long expressed his desire to be buried in the Papal Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome, instead of the traditional burial site for popes, St Peter’s Basilica.
According to The New York Times, the Vatican released his last will and testament on the same day, revealing that he wished to be laid to rest in a simple, undecorated tomb bearing only the inscription “Franciscus.”
In his will, dated June 29, 2022, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Francis wrote, “I wish my last earthly journey to end at this very ancient Marian shrine,” referring to St Mary Major. He said that he had visited the basilica at the beginning and end of every apostolic journey, and after each hospitalisation, including his final discharge on March 23 from a 38-day stay at Gemelli Hospital.
Though unable to get out of the car, he stopped in front of the basilica to pray.
“I have always entrusted my life and my priestly and episcopal ministry to the Mother of Our Lord, Mary Most Holy,” Francis stated, explaining his devotion to the Salus Populi Romani icon located in the Pauline Chapel, where he requested his tomb be placed nearby.
His will also reflected the humility that marked his life. Francis asked that “the tomb must be in the earth; simple, without particular decoration,” with no mention of his papacy on the tombstone. “With lively hope in eternal life,” he wrote, “I offer the suffering of the last part of my life for peace in the world and brotherhood among peoples.”
According to the Vatican’s death certificate, Francis died at 7:35 am (local time) from a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible cardiac arrest.
Prof Andrea Arcangeli, head of the Vatican’s health offices, noted the pope had long suffered from hypertension, Type II diabetes, bronchiectasis and had previously endured respiratory failure and pneumonia.
In his autobiography Hope, Francis said he did not wish to be buried in St Peter’s, explaining, “The Vatican is the home of my final service, not my eternity.” He also dismissed traditional funeral pomp, requesting “no catafalque, no triple coffin,” and asked instead for burial “with dignity, but like any other Christian.”
As per DW, this makes Francis the first pope in nearly 150 years not to be buried at St Peter’s Basilica.
The last was Pope Pius IX, whose remains were moved three years after burial. Francis’ final resting place will be near the Queen of Peace statue, fulfilling what he called a lifelong devotion to Mary, “whose embrace I have sought more than a hundred times during my pontificate.”
