The pope, who turns 87 this Sunday, said he has simplified the rite and wants to be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
Alberto Pizzoli / AFP
O Pope Francis revealed that he did not want to be buried Vaticanbut in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in pomegranateand that the place is already prepared for his death. “The location is already prepared. “I want to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore,” he said in an interview with Mexican television N+ broadcast this Wednesday the 13th. According to the Argentine Pope, who turns 87 this Sunday 17, he has already prepared the details of his funeral and simplified the particularly long rite. Jorge Bergoglio, who visited the temple on Sundays before his election in 2013, said he felt a “very strong connection” to this basilica in the center of the Italian capital, where seven popes rest, according to Vatican News. The Argentine Jesuit has the custom of praying in this place before and after each trip abroad. He also visited the basilica in June after leaving the hospital following abdominal surgery. In an interview with the Mexican press, Francisco announced a trip to Belgium in 2024, without giving a date, and said that he “pending” a visit to Argentina and another to Polynesia.
In the same interview he paid tribute to his predecessor Benedict XVI. for his “courage” to resign from his position. In 2013, the German theologian became the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages. He died on December 31, 2022 and was buried as John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica. Francisco, who claims to be feeling “good”, has always stated that he would be ready to resign from his position if he could no longer carry out his duties. At the same time, he emphasized that this should not become “fashionable”. In 2023, the Pope made five trips but had to cancel his attendance at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai due to bronchitis, from which he claims he is improving. The Pope's health has been poor for years and he is often in the hospital. This year he not only had to cancel appointments due to bronchitis, but also because of urgent abdominal surgery.