Rome (Brussels morning newspaper) – On Sunday morning, thousands of people went through the tomb of Pope Francis, filling the Roman basilica where he chose to be buried, dividing from tradition.
People began to be placed long before the basilica opened at 7:00 am (0500 GMT), and once the doors opened, the church quickly filled with visitors. The authorities encouraged the guests to go out immediately after seeing the grave, explaining that thousands most expected outside to enter.
For more than a century, no Pope was buried outside the Vatican; However, Francis chose to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore (Santa María Mayor) in the most cultural area of the Italian capital.
His coffin arrived there on Saturday after his funeral mass in the Plaza de San Pedro, where approximately 150,000 people aligned on the route through the city to say goodbye. The coffin was buried in a simple marble tomb located in a side hall of the basilica. Only his name in Latin, “Francisco”, is recorded at the top, while a reproduction of the cross without ornaments hangs around the neck on the niche.
What does the location of Pope Francis’s burial mean?
Founded in 432, the Church is the only basilica in Rome that retains Christian architecture is that despite the numerous subsequent additions. Francis had a deep attachment due to his devotion to Mary, Mother of God, praying there before and after each trip abroad.
An estimated Byzantine icon of Maria resides in the Pauline chapel near the tomb. A vase full of golden roses, equipped by Francis in 2023, rests among the candlesticks under the icon. On April 12, he made his last visit to the chapel, bringing a bouquet of white roses. A lonely white rose was in his grave.
Pope Francis, the 266 Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the first Latin American Pope, died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88. He died at 7:35 am local time in his department at Casa Santa Marta in Solaican. Pope Francis’s health had a leg decrease for months. He was hospitalized in February 2025 with a bad case of bronchitis and then diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia. Given thought after 38 days and resuming limited public activity, its general condition was still weak.
