Pope Francis has already chosen the place where he wants to be buried. It will not be in St. Peter's Basilica, like its predecessors, but in the papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four major basilicas of Rome, where the tombs of two other Popes, Clement VIII (died in 1605), are already located. ) and Paul V (1621), although the most famous among those who rest there is the Italian baroque genius Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
As explained in an interview with the Mexican channel N, Francisco wants to “simplify” papal funerals. “I was with the ceremony preparer for the Pope's funeral rite. “We simplify them quite a bit,” he said. “It had to be done… Well, I started the ritual,” he joked. And he announced: “The place is now prepared. “I want to be buried in Santa María Mayor.”
Francis has chosen this basilica because it is his “great devotion.” “Before – becoming Pope – when I came, I always went there on Sunday mornings when I was in Rome, I went there for a while. Yes, there is a very big connection.” The Pontiff has constantly gone to Santa María la Mayor during his pontificate. The last thing he does before taking a plane to a papal trip is always to go to this place to pray, and the same thing when he returns. He also went there to pray hours after being elected in the 2013 conclave.
Santa María la Mayor is closely linked to the Spanish Crown since the times of Charles I and later Philip IV. A statue of him designed by Bernini appears in the atrium and the Spanish kings are usually “honorary protocanons” of the temple. But in addition, it is also special for the Jesuits because it was there where Saint Ignatius of Loyola celebrated his first mass as a priest in December 1538.
With this will, the Argentine will be the first pope in more than a century who will not be buried in St. Peter's Basilica. Until the beginning of the 20th century, many popes wanted to be buried in another church in Rome with which they had a connection, but the last was Leo XIII, who died in 1903 and in 1924 his mortal remains were taken to Saint John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome. The last pontiff to die was, on December 31 of last year, Benedict XVI, who was buried in the same tomb previously occupied by John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica.
Francisco, who will turn 87 in a few days, has had a difficult year. He recently had to cancel his trip to Dubai for COP28 due to the flu. He was hospitalized in March for acute bronchitis and in June for surgery for an intestinal hernia. However, he does not seem to have any desire to renounce the pontificate, he assures that he is well and that it has not occurred to him during this time to follow the example of his predecessor. “That is good for me as an example and I ask the Lord to say enough is enough, at some point, but whenever he wants,” he reasoned.
“I need you to pray for my health. And old age does not come alone. “Old age does not put on makeup, it is itself, it presents itself as it is,” he continued. And on the other hand, knowing how to accept the gifts of old age. “You must accept that you can do a lot of good from another perspective.”
