Pope Francis died on Monday, April 21 morning at the age of 88, just a day after celebrating Easter when he made a surprise appearance at St. Peter’s Square.
The first Latin American pontiff, who led the world’s roughly 1.3 billion Roman Catholics since 2013, died of stroke followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse, the Vatican said.
It is now emerging that Pope Francis left a last will and testament before his death, which dictated where and how he would like to be interred in the event of his death.
In the will dated 29th June, 2022, Francis indicated a feeling that his twilight years of his earthly life were approaching. “As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial.”
“I have always entrusted myself to the Mother of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary,” Pope Francis wrote in the document, released by Vatican on Monday. “For this reason, I ask that my mortal remains rest – awaiting the day of the Resurrection – in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.”
This ancient Marian sanctuary was close to Pope Francis, as he would always stop to pray at the beginning and end of every apostolic journey.
“I ask that my tomb be prepared in the burial niche in the side aisle between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the Basilica, as shown in the attached plan,” he said in his will.
“The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.”
The cost of preparing the burial, Pope Francis wrote, will be covered by a sum provided by a benefactor, “which I have arranged to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.”
Full text of Pope Francis’ last will and testament
As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial.
Throughout my life, and during my ministry as a priest and bishop, I have always entrusted myself to the Mother of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary. For this reason, I ask that my mortal remains rest – awaiting the day of the Resurrection – in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
I wish my final earthly journey to end precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary, where I would always stop to pray at the beginning and end of every Apostolic Journey, confidently entrusting my intentions to the Immaculate Mother, and giving thanks for her gentle and maternal care.
I ask that my tomb be prepared in the burial niche in the side aisle between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the Basilica, as shown in the attached plan.
The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.
The cost of preparing the burial will be covered by a sum provided by a benefactor, which I have arranged to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. I have given the necessary instructions regarding this to Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Liberian Basilica.
May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me. The suffering that has marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and for fraternity among peoples.
