POPE LEO XIV
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Pope Francis “personally wished that his tomb be located in the Basilica of St. Mary Major,” said Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, archpriest of the basilica, at a press conference held on the steps of the building on Friday, April 25, 2025, on the eve of the papal funeral.
The Lithuanian explained that he had suggested this to the Pope on May 13, 2022, after noting Pope Francis' deep attachment to the icon Salus populi romani.
Francis prayed more than 120 times before this representation of the Virgin and Child during his pontificate. The last time he went was just days before his death: the Saturday before Palm Sunday.
Vatican News specified:
Francis made 126 visits to the Salus Populi Romani in 12 years of pontificate: the first on March 14, 2013, the day after his election as the 265th Successor of Peter; the last on April 12, on the eve of Holy Week; in between, countless visits before and after each apostolic journey and four hospitalizations at the Gemelli Hospital, twice in 2021, twice in 2023, and finally the longest stay, the 38 days spent from February 14 to March 23 of this year.
The Pontiff wanted the same Marian icon beside him in St. Peter's Square on March 27, 2020, during the Statio Orbis presided over at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An invitation from Mary herself
Although attracted by the idea of being buried there, Francis initially felt that he had a duty to be buried in St. Peter's Basilica, like all his recent predecessors, Cardinal Makrickas emphasized.
But a week later, he summoned the archpriest to his home at the Casa Santa Marta to tell him that he had changed his mind.
“The Virgin told me to prepare the tomb,” he told him, before adding: "I am happy that the Virgin has not forgotten me."
He then asked the Lithuanian to find a place for his tomb. An alcove near the Pauline Chapel, where the famous icon is located, was chosen.
The Pontiff did not want to be buried inside the Pauline Chapel, which houses the icon of the Salus, “because the faithful who come there must pray to the Lord, venerate the Virgin Mary, not look at the tomb of a pope,” said the cardinal.
For this reason, the tomb was prepared in the niche of the side aisle between the Pauline Chapel and the Sforza Chapel.
“This place seemed more suitable for another reason,” Cardinal Makrickas continued, “because the altar of St. Francis is also nearby. Thus, the place seemed truly perfect.”
Pope Francis “wanted the tomb to speak of his life, of simplicity, of the essential things,” explained Cardinal Makrickas.
The archpriest pointed out that the stone chosen for the tomb, slate, came from Liguria, the region where Jorge Mario Bergoglio's maternal grandfather was born.
The cardinal concluded by saying that seven other popes are already buried in the Liberian Basilica, including the first Franciscan pope, Nicholas IV, the first Dominican pope, Pius V, and now the first Jesuit pope.
In fact, the church has another special connection for the Jesuits, as it was there that the founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, celebrated his first Mass on Christmas Eve 1538.
Pope Francis loved the church even before he was pope: “When I came [to Rome], I always went there on Sunday mornings, I stayed there for a while. There is a very strong bond,” he said in an interview in 2023.
