Even his last will and testament breaks with the traditions of his predecessors: Pope Francis, who died on Monday at the age of 88, had long made it clear that he wished to be laid to rest elsewhere than in St. Peter's magnificent basilica, and without the customary pomp and circumstance. 

In his autobiography Hope, published earlier this year, the pontiff said that "when I pass away, I will not be buried in St. Peter's, but in Saint Mary Major" in Rome. He explained that, "the Vatican is the home of my final service, not my eternity."

The pope also explained that he wanted his remains interred in the St. Mary Major Basilica near the Mary Regina Pacis statue, "near that Queen of Peace, to whom I have always turned for help and whose embrace I have sought more than a hundred times during my pontificate."

"I have been assured that everything is ready," he added.

Even after spending 38 days at Gemelli Hospital, where he received treatment for life-threatening double pneumonia earlier this year as the world watched with concern, Francis' drive home to the Vatican took a detour to stop in front St. Mary's, so that at least from the car could pause in prayer near his favorite Madonna icon.

Buried in his favorite church

As so, the late pope's final journey will take him to his favorite church in Rome. The St. Mary Major Basilica is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from from St. Peter's Basilica — just across the Tiber River and not far from Rome's central train station and city center.

The church, consecrated over 16 centuries ago, is one of a dozen buildings that are extraterritorial property of the Catholic Church. Practically anyone in Rome, visitor and local alike, knows the church, which impresses all who visit with its fifth-century mosaic art. Between the 12th and 16th centuries, seven former popes designated this church as their final resting place.

Francis is the first pontiff not to be buried in St. Peter's Basilica in about 150 years. The last to break with this tradition was Pope Pius IX (1846-1878). While his body was initially laid to rest in St. Peter's, it was transferred to the basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence outside the walls) three years later.

Humble in life and in death

In his typical style, Francis not only designated his desired burial site but also distanced himself from the established Vatican funeral rites, which he described as "too elaborate."

Instead, he wished "no catafalque, no ceremony for sealing the coffin," and no entombment in the customary three coffins made of cypress, lead and oak. In his writing, he stated he preferred being buried "with dignity, but like any other Christian."

As Francis explained, his role was "that of a shepherd and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful man of this world."

The piecemeal, by-the-by way in which he communicated his wishes for his funeral was also typical of Francis' humble style. For while he was announcing something important, he did not require an official Vatican statement or public address as the head of the Church to do so.

Reshaping papal rites

Instead, Francis merely addressed the issue in one of the many interviews he gave before the 10th anniversary of his papal election in March 2023.

Speaking with Swiss broadcaster RSI, he cited the funeral of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, who died on New Year's Eve 2022 after nine years in retirement, as the reason for his decision to reshape the papal funeral rites.

At the time, he said, the offices of the Vatican responsible for planning his burial had racked their brains over how to organize the funeral of a non-reigning pope.

Francis told RSI that this occasion prompted him to simplify the burial rituals for himself and future popes, with church experts having removed all elements that were not considered to "fit litugically."

The funeral of Pope Benedict XVI was already less grandiose, while still honoring his former papal dignity.

Farewell at St. Peter's Basilica

In the fall of 2024, everything Pope Francis had revealed in his previous interviews was published in an updated liturgical book titled "Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis" ("Rite of burial for Roman pontiffs").

The faithful will still be able visit the remains of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica. But unlike his predecessors', Francis' wooden coffin will be closed. At his funeral in early 2023, the former Pope Benedict was elevated on a catafalque and was placed in the customary triple coffin after viewing.

For the last three popes who died in office (John Paul II in 2005, John Paul I in 1978, Paul VI in 1978), as well as for the retired Pope Benedict, the burial took place six days after news of their death was made public. In the case of Pope Francis, this timing is likely to remain the same.

The clergy serving at St. Mary's, as Pope Francis determined while he was still alive, are to focus primarily on Marian devotion, confession and liturgy. They will also maintain the traditional Gregorian chants and Latin liturgies.

This article was originally written in German.