Ever since he became leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has wanted to make simplicity his maxim, and that's how he wants his funerals to be too. The Pontiff has already chosen the place where he will be buried, and it will not be in the Basilica of Saint Peter, like his predecessors, but in the papal basilica of Santa Maria Major. It is one of the four major basilicas in Rome, where the tombs of other popes such as Clement VIII (died 1605) and Paul V (1621) are already located, although the most famous among those who rest there is the genius of Italian Baroque Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
As he explained in an interview with the Mexican channel N, Francis also wants to "simplify" papal funerals. "I was with the master of ceremonies preparing the Pope's funeral rite. We simplified them quite a bit", he explained. "It had to be done... Well, I'm opening the ritual." And he announced: "The place is ready. I want to be buried in Santa Maria Major”.
According to the Italian press, it would be a niche at the entrance, to the left, of the Paolina chapel, where the icon of the Virgin Salus Populi Romani, patron saint of Rome and to whom the Pontiff has great devotion, is located. The space would have already been reserved by a cardinal, but the Pope has gone ahead of him.
The choice of Santa Maria Major is not accidental. Francis often goes there to pray. He prayed there for a few hours after being elected to the 2013 conclave and also before and after every international trip. "Before [being Pope], already when I came, I always went there on Sunday morning when I was in Rome, I went there for a while. Yes, there is a very big bond", he explained in the interview.
Also, as the first Jesuit pope in history, this basilica has a special significance because it was where Saint Ignatius of Loyola celebrated his first mass as a priest in December 1538 and the first Jesuit missionaries in Asia carried a image of the icon of the Virgin Mary.
Santa Maria Major has been closely linked to the Spanish Crown since the times of Charles I and then Philip IV. A statue of him designed by Bernini is in the atrium and Spanish kings are usually "honorary proto-canons" of the temple.
With this will, the Argentine will be the first pope in more than a century who will not be buried in the Basilica of Sant Pere. Until the beginning of the 20th century many popes wanted to be buried in another church in the Italian capital with which they had a link, 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 the Basilica of Saint Peter.
Francesc, who will be 87 years old in a few days, has had a difficult 2023. He had to cancel his trip to Dubai for COP28 due to flu and was hospitalized in March for acute bronchitis and in June for an intestinal hernia operation. But for now, he rules out following Ratzinger's footsteps and resigning from the pontificate: "I like this as an example and I ask the Lord to say enough, at some point, but when he wants", he concluded.
