The late Pope Francis is likely going to be buried outside the Vatican.
In a 2023 interview with Mexican Televisa broadcaster N+, Pope Francis had said that he would be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in Rome, not in the grottoes underneath St Peter's Basilica, where most popes are buried.
His desire to be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore reflects his veneration of an icon of the Virgin Mary that is located there, the Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the people of Rome). Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and first Latin American pontiff, died today, aged 88. "Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis," said Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, during a brief address at the Casa Santa Marta at 9:45 a.m. "At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father," Farrell said.
The Vatican said Francis died while undergoing treatment at Rome's Gemelli hospital, where he had been admitted since Wednesday, February 14.
