Following his funeral, pictures of Pope Francis’ final resting place have been circulated.
At the age of 88, Francis, who presided over the Catholic Church for more than ten years, died quietly on Monday at Saint Martha House in Vatican City.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell of Camerlengo made the announcement in an emotional statement: “Dear brothers and sisters, I must announce with deep sorrow the death of our Holy Father Francis.” Francis, the Bishop of Rome, returned to the Father’s house this morning at 7:35.
He went on to say: “He devoted his life to serving the Lord and His Church.” He taught us to live out the gospel’s principles with courage, fidelity, and compassion for everyone, especially the weakest and most disenfranchised. Pope Francis’s soul is commended to the limitless, forgiving love of God, One and Triune, with great appreciation for his example as a faithful disciple of the Lord Jesus.
Pope Francis was buried in a private ceremony after a large public funeral in Rome that drew over 250,000 people.
Francis had explicitly asked to be buried at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, which is roughly six kilometers from St. Peter’s Square, as opposed to the majority of popes who are customarily interred beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
Since the burial, mourners have started to pay their respects in silence by visiting the plain white tomb. Only the Latin inscription “Franciscus” marks the grave, which has a solitary white rose resting on it. A replica of the late pope’s pectoral cross hangs on the wall above the tomb, which is illuminated by a gentle glow.
The tomb’s minimalism was intentional. Francis wanted the humility he aimed to exhibit during his life to be reflected in his last burial place, according to PBS News.
Speaking in 2022, Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas recalled Francis’s insistence that the Virgin Mary, to whom the basilica is dedicated, not a pope’s tomb should be the major focus.
