Pope Francis broke with tradition in choosing St. Mary Major for burial

By Giselda Vagnoni

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis, who visited more than 60 countries during his papacy, will make his final journey along the road from Vatican City to the Esquiline, one of the seven hills of Rome, where he wanted to be buried in a last break from tradition.

Francis, whose death at the age of 88 was announced by the Vatican on Monday, often sought to bring a humble touch to his grand office. In that spirit he eschewed much of the Vatican's traditional pomp and opted for simpler rites when making plans for his funeral and burial.

The Vatican said the funeral will be held on Saturday in St. Peter's Square, in front of the Basilica of St. Peter, where most of his predecessors rest.

But his chosen resting place is the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major), one of the main four churches of Christendom in Rome.

In his final testament, Pope Francis asked to be buried "in the earth, simple, without particular decoration" and with the inscription only of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.

The last pope to be buried outside the Vatican was Leo XIII, who died in 1903.

St. Mary Major, around 4 km (2.5 miles) from the Vatican, was dear to Francis because of his devotion to Mary, Mother of God. He prayed there before setting off on and returning from each overseas trip.

"I've always had a great devotion to St. Mary Major, even before I became pope," Francis said in his 2024 book "El Sucesor" (The Successor), a long interview with journalist Javier Martinez-Brocal.

Argentina-born Francis prayed in the basilica early on March 14, 2013, the day after he became the first Latin American pope. The church's gold-leaf ceiling is said to have been made from a batch of the precious metal brought back from the New World by explorer Christopher Columbus.

Francis returned at key moments in his papacy, praying for an end to the coronavirus pandemic in a locked-down Rome in 2020 and after his abdominal surgeries in 2021 and 2023.

A venerated Byzantine icon of Mary is housed in the Pauline chapel in the left nave of the basilica. A vase of golden roses, donated by Francis in 2023, sits among candlesticks under the icon.

Before reaching the chapel entrance, there is a statue of Mary, Queen of Peace, commissioned by Pope Benedict XV in 1918 to ask God to end World War One. In May 2022, Francis led an international prayer service for peace in Ukraine and other war-torn places.

THE CANDELABRA STORE ROOM

"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,'" the pope said in "El Sucesor", referring to where his tomb will be.

His cypress coffin will not be encased in lead, with a further wooden outer layer, as has been customary for popes.

In Ancient Rome, the Esquiline was used for the burial of slaves, the poor and those condemned to death. Nowadays, it is home to the Stazione Termini, Rome's main railway station, and is a multi-ethnic, populous neighbourhood where many film directors and actors have settled.

Santa Maria Maggiore was founded in 432, a year after the Council of Ephesus declared Mary to be the Mother of God. It is the only basilica in Rome that preserves the primitive early Christian structure, although there have been many later additions.

A legend, depicted on a 13th-century mosaic in the basilica's loggia, tells of a miraculous summer snowfall that occurred on the future site of the church.

Romans gather every August 5 to celebrate the miracle of La Madonna Della Neve, or Madonna of the Snows.

The basilica houses the bodies of seven popes and several religious figures, including Cardinal Bernard Law, former Archbishop of Boston, who became infamous for his role in covering up child sexual abuse by priests.

It is the burial place of Baroque sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini. A spiral staircase named after him connects the five floors of a building attached to the church. Its shell shape is said to symbolise the Christian journey from earth to heaven.

(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Frances Kerry and Janet Lawrence)