The church where Francis will be buried: the Swiss Guards kneel during his papsic procession to the throne
NBC News reports that the Swiss Guards — who have protected the pope and Apostolic Palace for centuries — will kneel for the consecration of the host. There will be a sermon that discusses the life of the pope, though it won’t technically be a eulogy.
In the days leading up to Francis’ funeral, the basilica has been alive with visitors curious to see the church where he will be buried. The chapel that houses the Salus Populi Romani was crowded with faithful in prayer. Their song and words were heard in the basilica.
After presiding over the funeral of his predecessor, the pope worked with the Vatican’s master of liturgical ceremonies to simplify funeral rituals for future pontiffs. Francis wrote in his 2024 autobiography that a pope should be buried “with dignity, but like any Christian, because the bishop of Rome is a pastor and a disciple, not a powerful man of this world.”
The pope’s body no longer needs to be in three coffins made of cypress, oak and lead, it was placed in a single wooden coffin with a zinc one. The coffin wasn’t placed on an elevated bier but facing the pews while lying in state.
The nave was beside the chapel where Francis is going to be buried. It was obscured by panels when NPR visited this week. The tomb is ready to receive him after the funeral was released by the Vatican. A replica of Francis’ cross is pictured on the back wall of the nave. And on the ground is a simple marble stone containing a single word engraved: Franciscus.
Pope Francis’ funeral at the Basilica of St. Mary Majors in Esquilino (Nicaragua, Spain)
Soon, Roman Catholic cardinals will convene to elect a new pope. The conclave must begin 15 to 20 days after the death of the pope, which would put its start date sometime between May 6 and May 11.
The service will mostly be a traditional Catholic one. And while it will predominantly be in Latin, the program lists prayers in other languages — Portuguese, Polish, Chinese, Arabic — nodding to the global nature of the church.
On Saturday morning the funeral will begin with a procession, led by a priest carrying a cross, the New York Times reports. After the coffin has been set down in the square, a book of the Gospels will be placed on top of it.
According to Russian media reports, the president will not be at the funeral. Putin is under an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court in connection with alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
The United Nations Secretary-General, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Union Commission President, the president of Francis’ native Argentina, the president of the Ukrainian presidency, and the president of Brazil are all planning to be there.
After tens of thousands of people paid their respects to Francis while he lay in state at the Basilica, his funeral will be held six days later.
ROME — Pope Francis will be the first pontiff in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican Grottoes. After his funeral on Saturday, he will be laid to rest in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, which stands sentinel across the city in the Esquilino district.
Francis broke with tradition by allowing himself to simplify burial rites for future popes, as well as giving himself specific instructions to reduce his own.
Viewers can watch a livestream of the ceremony on the Vatican News’s YouTube channel. The Vatican says it will provide live coverage of the funeral and procession to St. Mary Majors, but will stop before the burial in the Basilica.
In the US and around the world, many major broadcasters will broadcast and stream the funeral, including NBC and Peacock.
The Virgin Mary of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Pope’s Visit to St. Mary Major Basilica: From a Dream to Reality: Giovanni Battista Re Revisited
The Vatican says the mass will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re — the dean of the College of Cardinals, which will meet in the coming weeks to select the next pope.
There is a myth that the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream and asked for a house of worship to be built in her honor.
“The intervention was divine from Mary,” Makrickas said. Francis recounted the story of the Virgin Mary’s appearance before him during a meeting at his residence in which the Pope asked Makrickas to make the necessary arrangements for his tomb at the basilica. He told me that he was happy that Mary didn’t forget him.
Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis visited St. Mary Major basilica — with its colonnades of cipollino marble and intricate statues — 126 times. He went there principally to pray to the Salus Populi Romani, health or protectress of the Roman people in Latin, a painting on cedar wood that shows the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. Mary was proclaimed the Mother of God in 431 at the Council of Ephesus, bringing this icon to Rome in the fifth century. Tradition says that the book of Acts was written by St.luke the Evangelist and it was painted by him.
In his papacy, Francis seemed to have an ally in the Virgin Mary. He visited her on his first day in Rome, and would pray to her after each trip out of Rome. It was the first place he went after being discharged from Gemelli hospital in March. And he returned to pray there just days before he died on Easter Monday.
It is said that the city was saved from a plague in 590 by Pope Gregory the Great’s procession of the populi romani.
During the coronavirus epidemic in 2020, Pope Francis brought her to St. Peter’s Basilica, and then stood alone in St. Peter’s Square.
The simplicity of his resting place follows the express request made by Francis in his will. Pope Francis used to be a model of simplicity, choosing a simpler dress, not using chauffeurs, and even showing up in a small car.
“Francis’ simple approach made people understand that we are the same,” says Giuseppe Cipolla, who visited St. Mary Major with his wife and two children. There shouldn’t be a privileged and poor population on this planet.
Source: What it’s like in the church Pope Francis chose as his final resting place
The basilica of the Esquiline Hill: a historical site for a millennium of pilgrims’ experiences in Rome and Rome’s second basilica
For 16 centuries, this basilica has stood sentinel. The main train station and the district where it is housed have a large immigrant population. Historically however, the area — the Esquiline Hill — was one of the seven ancient hills on which Rome was founded.