The Vatican announced on Thursday that Pope Francis’ final resting place will be a plain, marble tomb situated in a niche of a Roman basilica that he holds in high regard. The Vatican also released an image of the project.
The marble for the tombstone will be sourced from Liguria, the northwestern Italian region where the Argentinian pontiff’s Italian progenitors were originally from, and it will feature the Latin name “Franciscus.”
Above it will be a replica of the pectoral cross that Francis wore during his lifetime.
The tomb will be situated in the side nave of Santa Maria Maggiore, a fifth-century church in the centre of Rome that already hosts the tombs of seven popes, near the altar of Saint Francis, according to the Vatican.
Francis was deeply committed to the veneration of the Virgin Mary and made it a point to pray at Santa Maria Maggiore both prior to his departure for international travel and upon his return to Rome.
In 2023, the pontiff expressed his intention to be interred in the basilica.
Clement IX was the final pontiff to be interred there in 1669.
Santa Maria Maggiore, one of four papal basilicas in Rome, is also home to the remains of numerous other distinguished individuals, including the architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who was responsible for the design of St. Peter’s Square and its surrounding columns.
Around 432, Pope Sixtus III constructed the basilica, which is home to several of the Catholic Church’s most significant relics. Among these is an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus, which is credited to Saint Luke.
Francis, who was born Jorge Bergoglio, had designated the precise location where he desired to be interred in his will. Additionally, he requested that his tomb remain unadorned.
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