In an exclusive interview with Mexican television channel N+, Pope Francis revealed that he “prepared his tomb in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore because of his great devotion to the Virgin Salus Popoli Romani and that he is simplifying the rite of papal funerals.” The journalist Valentina Alazraki, author of the conversation with the Pope, wrote it on her X-page (the former Twitter).
The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the four papal basilicas in Rome and already houses the remains of five popes: Pius V, Sixtus V, Clement XIII, Paul V and Clement IX. The Holy Father added that one must prepare for old age and the limitations of old age. For this reason, he met the master of ceremonies and asked for a simplification of the papal funeral, which will be much simpler: with his usual sense of humor, Francis joked “The new ritual will be my first.”
The question of resignation and the example of Pope Ratzinger
In the conversation, the Pope also made it clear that he had no plans to resign “at the moment” and explained that he learned of these rumors “with great sympathy.” “Benedict to him: “Benedikt was a great and humble man who, when he recognized his limitations, had the courage to say enough. I admire him.”
Foreign travel and the case of the Argentine Milei
The pontiff will do little for 2024. He himself said that only one trip to Belgium was confirmed for the new year, while the two long trips to Argentina and Polynesia would have to be reconsidered. He then confirmed “that he had received the invitation” to travel to Buenos Aires from President Javier Milei. “What is said in the election campaign falls by itself,” Pope Francis replied to the Mexican N+ correspondent in the Vatican in response to the accusations and insults directed at him by the new tenant of the Casa Rosada. Before the election, Milei said that “the pope has an affinity for murderous communists” and described him as “the representative of evil on earth.” At the end of the rallies, Milei's employees also called for “the cessation of diplomatic relations with the Vatican as long as a totalitarian spirit prevails in the church.” The Holy See and Pope Francis never commented on the crimes.