Footage shared by the Holy See showed cardinals marking Pope Francis’s wooden and zinc coffin with red wax seals, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
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 north-western Italian region once home to the Argentine pontiff’s Italian ancestors.
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 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, reports AFP, 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 in about AD432 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, reports AFP.
Cardinals have performed the rite of burial for Pope Francis at his simple tomb inside Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica.
The burial ceremony on Saturday was private, attended by top cardinals and people close to the pope. Video provided by the Vatican showed Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is running the Vatican in between papacies, blessing Francis’ coffin before it was interred.
