Pope Francis, in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, disclosed his choice to be buried not in St Peter's Basilica alongside his immediate predecessors but in Santa Maria Maggiore, a basilica in Rome.
During the interview with Mexican broadcaster Televisa's N+ streaming service, the pontiff, who is approaching 87, stated, "The place is already prepared. I want to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore." This decision would mark him as the first pope in over a century to be interred outside the Vatican. The last pope to forego a tomb in St Peter's was Leo XIII, who passed away in 1903, with his remains resting in the Basilica of St John the Lateran in Rome.
Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four papal basilicas in Rome, holds special significance for Pope Francis, who expressed a "special connection" to it. He frequently visited the basilica on Sundays before his papacy and, since assuming office in 2013, continues to pray there before and after trips, as well as following surgery. The basilica has previously been the final resting place for seven popes, according to Vatican News.
In addition to sharing his burial preference, Pope Francis revealed plans to visit Belgium in 2024, expressing hopes to also visit his native Argentina and Polynesia.
The Pope, who has faced health challenges in recent years, canceled a visit to the COP28 climate talks in Dubai due to bronchitis. In the interview recorded on Tuesday, he paid tribute to his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for having the "courage" to resign in 2013 when his health declined. Benedict, the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages, passed away on December 31, 2022. After a funeral in St Peter's Basilica, led by Pope Francis, Benedict was interred in a tomb beneath the church, previously holding Pope John Paul II's body before its relocation for beatification in 2011.
While Pope Francis expressed openness to following Benedict's example if unable to perform his duties, he emphasized that stepping down should not become a "normal thing" for popes.
