Pope requests burial in Rome, not Vatican
Pope Francis, in an interview aired on Wednesday, disclosed his preference not to be buried alongside his predecessors in St. Peter's Basilica but, instead, in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
He mentioned, "The place is already prepared. I want to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore," sharing this decision as he approaches his 87th birthday this weekend in an interview with the Mexican broadcaster Televisa’s N+ streaming service.
This choice marks a historic decision, making Pope Francis the first pontiff in over a century to be laid to rest outside the Vatican. In the same interview, he also outlined plans to visit Belgium in 2024 and expressed his hope to visit his native Argentina and Polynesia.
The most recent pope to opt out of a tomb in St. Peter’s was Leo XIII, who passed away in 1903, with his final resting place in the Basilica of St. John the Lateran in Rome.
Santa Maria Maggiore holds a significant place among the four papal basilicas in Rome, and Pope Francis has expressed a "special connection" with it. Before his papacy, he would frequently visit the basilica on Sundays while in Rome. Since assuming the papal office in 2013, he has consistently prayed there before and after his travels and has sought solace in the basilica following medical procedures.
The Vatican News official media outlet reports that seven popes have been interred in the basilica in the past.
The pontiff has faced escalating health challenges in recent years, leading to the cancellation of his attendance at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai due to bronchitis.
During an interview recorded on Tuesday, where he appeared notably improved, he expressed gratitude to his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for displaying "the courage" to resign when his health deteriorated. In 2013, the German pontiff became the first pope since the Middle Ages to step down.
After Benedict's death on December 31, 2022, a funeral in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, led by Francis, was held, and his body was laid to rest in the tomb beneath the church. This tomb also housed the body of former Pope John Paul II before being relocated for his beatification in 2011.
While Francis has indicated a willingness to emulate Benedict if he could no longer fulfill his duties, he emphasized that resigning should not become a routine occurrence for popes.
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