Pope Francis to be buried at his beloved St. Mary Major basilica
“The place is already prepared,” revealed Pope Francis on the subject of his future tomb in St. Mary Major, in an interview with the Mexican reporter Valentina Alazraki, broadcast on the Noticieros Televisa channel on December 12, 2023, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The Pontiff spoke extensively about his bond with the Virgin Mary, and it was the icon of her at Mary Major that drew him over and over again. Before and after his trips, he would stop to see her. He brought her the flowers that he had spotted from the Gemelli balcony the day he finally got out of the hospital after his 38-day stay battling double pneumonia. He was back again last week, as he began to venture out among the public, and give brief greetings and blessings in his still-strained and breathless voice.
Confessing his desire to “simplify” the liturgy of papal funerals, the Pontiff said that he wished to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore, a papal basilica located in the center of Rome. He explained that he made this promise to the Virgin Mary, with whom he had “a very deep bond.”
Pope Francis will thus depart from the contemporary tradition of burying pontiffs near the first pope, in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. However seven other popes have been buried in St. Mary Major, the last being Clement IX, who reigned from 1667 to 1669.
“This is the place”
On December 8, 2023, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis honored the Virgin with a Golden Rose. “I’ve always had a great devotion to St. Mary Major, even before I became pope,” he said in his book El Sucesor (“The Successor”), written with vaticanist Javier Martìnez-Brocal.
He went on to explain why he chose to be buried there: “Just beyond the sculpture of the Queen of Peace, there’s a small recess, a door that leads to a room where candelabras were stored. I saw it and thought, ‘This is the place.’ And that’s where the burial site was prepared. I’ve been told it’s ready.”
Buried as a simple Christian
A former candelabra closet is hidden behind an almost anonymous wooden door, past which tourists walk without noticing. The future tomb of the 266th pope will be set against the chapel of Salus Populi Romani and sheltered in the curve of the protective pillars of the Sforza chapel, the only place reserved for silent prayer. Here, flash photography is forbidden. A profound silence inhabits the sober gray stone, saturated by the Rosaries prayed by the contemplative faithful.
The hidden door to Francis’ future tomb is just like him. The pontiff explained that he wished to “simplify” the liturgy of papal funerals. As Javier Martìnez-Brocal told us in a 2024 interview:
“He wants to dismantle everything that has to do with a logic of monarchy, of the Court… He doesn’t want his remains to be displayed, he wants to be buried like a simple Christian. He wants to return to a certain simplicity and ensure that the figure of the pope is recognized for its spiritual character, without excess.”
Between two confessionals
Another detail is of particular significance: the door to Francis’ future tomb is flanked by two confessionals where elderly priests wearing albs whisper in persona Christi, releasing the bonds of sins. As a penitent kneels in the midst of the tourists, it’s easy to think that this is no coincidence. The Argentine pontiff preached so much about mercy. “God never tires of forgiving” was one of the great leitmotifs of his magisterium, and his gesture of humbly going to confession during penitential celebrations will remain one of the great images of his pontificate.
This article was written by Kathleen N. Hattrup and Emma Gatti for Aleteia
Featured image: Pope Francis prays before the Marian icon “Salus Populi Romani” in a chapel of Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major after an evening prayer service Aug. 5, 2024, the feast of the basilica’s dedication. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
