By Agence France-Presse
Pope Francis was buried inside his favorite Rome church after a funeral mass in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican said on Saturday.
Francis, who died on April 21, aged 88, was laid to rest during a 30-minute ceremony which started at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) at the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in the Italian capital.
Footage shared by the Holy See showed cardinals marking his wooden and zinc coffin with red wax seals.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who as camerlengo is running the Vatican’s day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected, sprinkled it with holy water after it was lowered into a tomb set inside an alcove.
A reproduction of the pectoral cross worn by Francis during his lifetime hung above it.
Francis had asked that the tomb, located near the altar of Saint Francis, be simple and unadorned, reflecting the humble spirit of his papacy.
The tombstone bears only the inscription “Franciscus” – the pope’s name in Latin. Its marble is sourced from Liguria, the northwestern Italian region once home to the Argentine pontiff’s Italian ancestors.
A break from “tradition”
Francis, born Jorge Bergoglio, had specified in his will the exact spot he wanted to be buried, in the side nave of the beloved fifth-century AD church.
The pontiff was devoted to the worship of the Virgin Mary and made a point of praying in Santa Maria Maggiore before leaving on trips abroad and upon his return to Rome.
He declared his desire to be entombed there in 2023. Located in the heart of Rome, the basilica already holds the tombs of seven popes.
But the last one to be buried there was Clement IX in 1669. More recently, popes have usually been buried in St. Peter’s Basilica.
One of four papal basilicas in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore also holds the remains of several other renowned figures, such as the architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who designed St. Peter’s Square and its surrounding columns.
Built around 432 AD under Pope Sixtus III, the basilica holds some of the Catholic Church’s most important relics, including an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus, attributed to Saint Luke.
